Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.
Niki Wintzer, PhD
Niki is a Research Geologist in the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. In 2007, she joined the USGS in Menlo Park, CA but now works in Spokane, WA. She earned a B.S. in Earth Sciences from California Polytechnic State University in 2004, an M.S. in Geology from San Jose State University in 2009, and her Ph.D. in Geology from Washington State University in 2019.
With specialized skills in geochronology, geochemistry, and structural geology, Niki investigates nationally important ore deposits. The Yellow Pine/Stibnite gold-antimony-tungsten mining area in central Idaho is her current research focus, and it holds the largest resource of the nationally critical commodity antimony. She is constraining the age of tungsten and antimony mineralization, unique geochemical signatures in the ore host rocks, and the ore-controlling structural setting that all provide insight into why mineralization formed when and where it did.
Professional Experience
2009-present, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Spokane, WA.
2007-2009, Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Geology, Washington State University, 2019
M.S. Geology, San Jose State University, 2009
B.S. Earth Sciences, California Polytechnic State University, 2004
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America (GSA) member
Society of Economic Geologists (SEG) member
Science and Products
Antimony In and Around the Yellow Pine Deposit, Central Idaho
Fluorite Samples from the Western United States - The Ronald G. Worl Collection
Geochemical data for the Thunder Mountain volcanic field and dikes in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district region
Mallnock, Wolfram Camp, and Andrew Curtis Scheelite and Wolframite U-Pb Isotope Data
Geospatial Files for the Geologic Map of the Stibnite Mining Area, Valley County, Idaho
Garnet Lu-Hf Ages and Isotope Data for the Stibnite, Idaho Area
Isotopic ratios and element concentrations of U-Pb and Sm-Nd for scheelite petrochronology
Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.
Polyphase stratabound scheelite-ferberite mineralization at Mallnock, Eastern Alps, Austria
Critical minerals in subduction-related magmatic-hydrothermal systems of the United States
Geologic map of the Stibnite mining area, Valley County, Idaho
U-Pb scheelite ages of tungsten and antimony mineralization in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district, central Idaho
Qualitative assessment of selected areas of the world for undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits: Chapter Y in Global mineral resource assessment
Antimony: a flame fighter
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
Assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits of the Kodar-Udokan area, Russia
Descriptive models, grade-tonnage relations, and databases for the assessment of sediment-hosted copper deposits: with emphasis on deposits in the Central Africa Copperbelt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia: Chapter J in Global mineral resou
Mineral-resource assessment of northern Nye County, Nevada— A progress report
Science and Products
Antimony In and Around the Yellow Pine Deposit, Central Idaho
Fluorite Samples from the Western United States - The Ronald G. Worl Collection
Geochemical data for the Thunder Mountain volcanic field and dikes in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district region
Mallnock, Wolfram Camp, and Andrew Curtis Scheelite and Wolframite U-Pb Isotope Data
Geospatial Files for the Geologic Map of the Stibnite Mining Area, Valley County, Idaho
Garnet Lu-Hf Ages and Isotope Data for the Stibnite, Idaho Area
Isotopic ratios and element concentrations of U-Pb and Sm-Nd for scheelite petrochronology
Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.
Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.
Polyphase stratabound scheelite-ferberite mineralization at Mallnock, Eastern Alps, Austria
Critical minerals in subduction-related magmatic-hydrothermal systems of the United States
Geologic map of the Stibnite mining area, Valley County, Idaho
U-Pb scheelite ages of tungsten and antimony mineralization in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district, central Idaho
Qualitative assessment of selected areas of the world for undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits: Chapter Y in Global mineral resource assessment
Antimony: a flame fighter
Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia
Assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits of the Kodar-Udokan area, Russia
Descriptive models, grade-tonnage relations, and databases for the assessment of sediment-hosted copper deposits: with emphasis on deposits in the Central Africa Copperbelt, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia: Chapter J in Global mineral resou
Mineral-resource assessment of northern Nye County, Nevada— A progress report
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government