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General - Additional Information (Detail) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2012
Description of spin-off | On November 29, 2012, Gold Fields announced the creation of a new South African gold mining company through the listing and subsequent unbundling of its 100% owned subsidiary, Sibanye Gold Limited (“Sibanye Gold”), formerly known as GFI Mining South Africa Proprietary Limited, which holds the KDC and Beatrix gold mines as well as various service companies. The separation of Sibanye Gold from Gold Fields is referred to as the Spin-off. The board of directors of Gold Fields, or the Board, passed the resolution necessary to implement the Spin-off on December 12, 2012 and the Spin-off was completed in February 2013.
Sibanye Gold [Member] |
Percentage of subsidiary owned | 100.00%

X
- Definition Description of Shares Distributed in Connection with Spin Off + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | gfi_DescriptionOfSharesDistributedInConnectionWithSpinOff
Namespace Prefix: | gfi_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Percentage ownership interest held. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | gfi_PercentageOfOwnershipInterest
Namespace Prefix: | gfi_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration