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Acquisition and Disposal of Businesses - Additional Information (Detail) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified | 0 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended | 0 Months Ended |  | 0 Months Ended |  | 0 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | 12 Months Ended |  | 0 Months Ended
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Oct. 01, 2013 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 Yanfolila USD ($) | Aug. 19, 2014 Chucupaca Canteras Del Hallazgo USD ($) | Jul. 02, 2014 Hummingbird Yanfolila USD ($) | Jul. 02, 2014 Hummingbird Yanfolila USD ($) | Jul. 02, 2014 Hummingbird Mali Yanfolila | Aug. 19, 2014 Compania De Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. Chucupaca Canteras Del Hallazgo | Aug. 19, 2014 Compania De Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. Chucupaca Canteras Del Hallazgo | Oct. 01, 2013 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2012 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Oct. 01, 2013 Yilgarn South USD ($) | Oct. 01, 2013 Yilgarn South ZAR | Oct. 01, 2013 Yilgarn South ADR's | Feb. 18, 2013 Sibanye Gold [Member]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Description of spin-off Distribution ratio |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | The Spin-off was achieved by way of Gold Fields making a distribution on a pro rata basis of one Sibanye Gold ordinary share for every one Gold Fields share (whether held in the form of shares, American depositary receipts, or ADRs, or international depositary receipts) to Gold Fields shareholders, registered as such in Gold Fields' register at close of business on February 15, 2013, in terms of section 46 of the South African Companies Act and section 46 of the South African Income Tax Act.
Total net consideration | $ 262.3 us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | $ 262.3 us-gaap_BusinessCombinationConsiderationTransferred1 / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business acquisition common shares issuable | 28,700,000 us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodSharesAcquisitions |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 28,700,000 us-gaap_StockIssuedDuringPeriodSharesAcquisitions / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Business acquisition cash paid | 135.0 us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 135.0 us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  | 0 us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember | 135.0 us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember | 0 us-gaap_PaymentsToAcquireBusinessesGross / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |  |
Business acquisition deposit paid |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 30.0 gfi_BusinessAcquisitionCostOfAcquiredEntityDepositPaid / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |
Volume-weighted average price trading time horizon on NYSE |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 5 days |
Business combination reason for business combination |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Taking control of the acquired mines enabled the Group to increase its production profile in Australia and to obtain cost efficiencies through the integration of the Lawlers and the existing Agnew gold mines. |  |  |  |  |  |
Contributed revenue |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 151.3 gfi_BusinessAcquisitionRevenueReportedByAcquiredEntity / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Loss after tax |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 4.1 gfi_BusinessAcquisitionLossAfterTaxReportedByAcquiredEntityFromDateOfControl / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Transaction costs |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 27.4 us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionCostOfAcquiredEntityTransactionCosts / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |  |
Acquisition agreement date |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Oct. 01, 2013 |  |  |  |  |  |
Shares issued price per share |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 44.8 gfi_ListedSharePrice / us-gaap_BusinessAcquisitionAxis = gfi_YilgarnSouthMember |  |
Percentage of sale interest project |  |  |  |  | 85.00%gfi_PercentageOfOwnershipInterestSold / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember |  |  |  | 85.00%gfi_PercentageOfOwnershipInterestSold / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_HummingbirdMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember / us-gaap_StatementGeographicalAxis = country_ML | 51.00%gfi_PercentageOfOwnershipInterestSold / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_CompaniaDeMinasBuenaventuraSaaMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_ChucupacaMember / us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis = gfi_CanterasDelHallazgoMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Equity acquisition, amount |  |  |  |  | 21.1 us-gaap_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationConsideration / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember |  |  | 21.1 us-gaap_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationConsideration / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_HummingbirdMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Equity acquisition, shares |  |  |  |  |  |  | 21,258,503 gfi_DisposalGroupIncludingDiscontinuedOperationNumberOfShares / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_HummingbirdMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Profit on disposal of investments and subsidiaries |  | 78.0 us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherInvestments | 17.8 us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherInvestments | 27.6 us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherInvestments |  | 72.8 us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherInvestments / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_ChucupacaMember / us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis = gfi_CanterasDelHallazgoMember | 5.1 us-gaap_GainLossOnSaleOfOtherInvestments / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_HummingbirdMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_YanfolilaMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Equity ownership percentage |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 49.00%us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage / dei_LegalEntityAxis = gfi_CompaniaDeMinasBuenaventuraSaaMember / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_ChucupacaMember / us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis = gfi_CanterasDelHallazgoMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Equity sale price |  |  |  |  |  | $ 81.0 us-gaap_ProceedsFromSaleOfEquityMethodInvestments / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_ChucupacaMember / us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis = gfi_CanterasDelHallazgoMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Percentage of smelter royalty receivable on future sales |  |  |  |  |  | 1.50%gfi_PercentageOfRoyaltyReceivableOnFutureSales / us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis = gfi_ChucupacaMember / us-gaap_RelatedPartyTransactionsByRelatedPartyAxis = gfi_CanterasDelHallazgoMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

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- Definition Loss after tax reported by the acquired entity for the period from acquisition date to the reporting date of the previous financial year. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Total revenue reported by the acquired entity for the period from acquisition date to the reporting date of the previous financial year. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Disposal group including discontinued operation number of shares. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Listed share price of Company at business acquisition agreement date. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Number of days used to calculate the VWAP of ADR's trading on the NYSE prior to closing. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Percentage of ownership interest sold. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Percentage of royalty receivable on future sales. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Amount of direct costs of the business combination including legal, accounting, and other costs incurred to consummate the business acquisition. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Date when the business acquisition agreement was executed, in CCYY-MM-DD format. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Amount of consideration transferred, consisting of acquisition-date fair value of assets transferred by the acquirer, liabilities incurred by the acquirer, and equity interest issued by the acquirer. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 30 -Paragraph 7 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911251&loc=d3e6578-128477 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 30 -Paragraph 8 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6911251&loc=d3e6613-128477 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 30 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35744584&loc=d3e6927-128479 + Details
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- Definition This element represents a description of the primary reason for the business combination which may consist of general categories such as top-line growth, synergistic benefits, market share, and diversification and the more detailed factors that might apply. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 805 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (d) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25497992&loc=d3e1392-128463 + Details
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- Definition Amount of consideration received or receivable for the disposal of assets and liabilities, including discontinued operation. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571 + Details
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- Definition The difference between the book value and the sale price of other nonspecific investments. This element is used when other, more specific, elements are not appropriate. This element refers to the gain (loss) included in earnings. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585 + Details
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- Definition The cash outflow associated with the acquisition of business during the period. The cash portion only of the acquisition price. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Investing Activities -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6516133 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 13 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3213-108585 + Details
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- Definition The cash inflow associated with the sale of equity method investments, which are investments in joint ventures and entities in which the entity has an equity ownership interest normally of 20 to 50 percent and exercises significant influence. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Investing Activities -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6516133 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3179-108585 + Details
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- Definition Number of shares of stock issued during the period pursuant to acquisitions. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 04 -Article 3 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 505 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.3-04) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=27012166&loc=d3e187085-122770 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.28,29) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 29, 30 -Article 5 + Details
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