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Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 14, 2011	Apr. 21, 2009 Gold Fields Operations	Dec. 31, 2010 Rand Refinery Limited	Dec. 31, 2011 Rand Refinery Limited	Jun. 30, 2010 Rand Refinery Limited	Nov. 21, 2010 Rand Refinery Limited	Dec. 31, 2011 Peotona Gold (Proprietary) Limited	Apr. 21, 2009 Peotona Gold (Proprietary) Limited	Apr. 21, 2009 Peotona Gold (Proprietary) Limited Gold Fields Operations	Oct. 14, 2011 Western Areas Prospecting
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Ownership Interests, percent				34.90%						100.00%
Refining fees			$ 1,400,000	$ 1,700,000	$ 1,200,000
Agreement with GFL Mining Services Limited regarding Gold Fields' South African gold production, maximum percentage allowed to sell						50.00%
Cheryl A. Carolus, a non-executive director of Gold Fields, economic interest							25.00%
Cheryl A. Carolus, a non-executive director of Gold Fields, voting interest							51.00%
Ownership interest in Western Areas Prospecting (Proprietary) Limited		74.00%						26.00%
Option to acquire Peotona Gold interest in Western Areas Prospecting (Proprietary) Limited									26.00%
Percentage of ownership interest acquired from Peotona Gold	0.26
Amount of cash paid to acquire Peotona Gold	$ 6,300,000

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Represents the cash payment of the purchase by the parent of an additional equity interest in a subsidiary during the period, thereby effecting a change in total (consolidated) equity attributable to the parent.

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Represents the purchase by the parent of an additional equity interest in a subsidiary during the period, thereby effecting a change in total (consolidated) equity attributable to the parent. The purchase of the additional equity interest represented by this element increases the parent's controlling interest in the subsidiary.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)

-Number 51

-Paragraph A7

-Appendix A



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 810

-SubTopic 10

-Section 55

-Paragraph 4M

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6922042&loc=SL4591554-111686



Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 505

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6959260&loc=d3e187085-122770



Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Research Bulletin (ARB)

-Number 51

-Paragraph 38

-Subparagraph d

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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Cost incurred related to the downstream oil and gas activities, including refining of crude oil and marketing and distribution of crude oil, refined petroleum products, and natural gas.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

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-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.2)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6880815&loc=d3e20235-122688



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 932

-SubTopic 235

-Section 50

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-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6821537&loc=d3e62136-109447

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