James Hein
Science and Products
Global Marine Mineral Resources
Researching mineral resources that occur within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and areas beyond national jurisdictions.
Changes in seabed mining
Chapter 23 of the First World Ocean Assessment (WOA I) focused on marine mining, and particularly on established extractive industries, which are predominantly confined to near-shore areas, where shallow-water, near-shore aggregate and placer deposits, and somewhat deeper water phosphate deposits are found (United Nations, 2017a). At the time of...
Hein, James R.; Madureira, Pedro; Bebianno, Maria João; Colaço, Ana; Pinheiro, Luis M.; Roth, Richard; Singh, Pradeep K.; Strati, Anastasia; Tuhumwire, Joshua T. Ocean floor manganese deposits
Much of the dissolved Mn delivered to the oceans is slowly oxidized and precipitated alongside varying amounts of Fe into Mn and ferromanganese (FeMn) mineral deposits that occur extensively in the deep ocean wherever sediment accumulation is low and substrate is available. FeMn crusts grow as pavements on rock outcrops throughout the...
Mizell, Kira; Hein, James R. Sphalerite oxidation in seawater with covellite: Implications for seafloor massive sulfide deposits and mine waste
Metal sulfide minerals exist in several marine environments and are in thermodynamic disequilibrium with oxygenated seawater from the time of their formation. Oxidation is both ubiquitous and heterogeneous, as observational and experimental evidence demonstrates that sulfide minerals may oxidize completely on decadal timescales (hydrothermal...
Gartman, Amy; Whisman, Samantha P.; Hein, James R. The effects of phosphatization on the mineral associations and speciation of Pb in ferromanganese crusts
The older layers of thick ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from the central Pacific Ocean have undergone diagenetic phosphatization, during which carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) filled fractures and pore space and replaced carbonates. The effects of phosphatization on individual trace metal concentrations, speciation, and phase associations in FeMn...
Mizell, Kira; Hein, James R.; Koschinsky, Andrea; Hayes, Sarah M. Changes in sediment source areas to the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, over the past 5.5 million years based on radiogenic isotopes (Sr, Nd, Pb) of detritus from ferromanganese crusts
Ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts provide a useful paleoenvironmental archive for studying the poorly understood climatic, oceanographic, and geologic evolution of the Arctic Ocean. This study is based on the identification and temporal reconstruction of sources and inferred transport pathways of terrigenous material in FeMn crusts collected from...
Konstantinova, Natalia; Hein, James R.; Mizell, Kira; Cherkashov, Georgy; Dreyer, Brian; Hutchinson, Deborah Genesis and evolution of ferromanganese crusts from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, southwest Atlantic Ocean
The Rio Grande Rise (RGR) is a large elevation in the Atlantic Ocean and known to host potential mineral resources of ferromanganese crusts (Fe–Mn), but no investigation into their general characteristics have been made in detail. Here, we investigate the chemical and mineralogical composition, growth rates and ages of initiation, and...
Benites, Mariana; Hein, James R.; Mizell, Kira; Blackburn, Terrence; Jovane, Luigi Geographic and oceanographic influences on ferromanganese crust composition along a Pacific Ocean meridional transect, 14N to 14S
The major controls on the variability of ferromanganese (FeMn) crust composition have been generally described over the past 40 years; however, most compilation studies lack quantitative statistics and are limited to a small region of several seamounts or compare FeMn crusts from disparate areas of the global oceans. This study provides the first...
Mizell, Kira; Hein, James R.; Lam, Phoebe J. ; Koppers, Anthony A.P. ; Staudigel, Hubert Formation and occurrence of ferromanganese crusts: Earth’s storehouse for critical metals
Marine ferromanganese oxide crusts (Fe–Mn crusts) are potentially important metal resources formed on the seafloor by precipitation of dissolved and colloidal components from ambient seawater onto rocky surfaces. The unique properties and slow growth rates of the crusts promote adsorption of numerous elements from seawater: some, such as Te and Co...
Whisman, Samantha; Lusty, Paul A.; Hein, James R.; Josso, Pierre Mineralization at oceanic transform faults and fracture zones
Mineral formation in the modern oceans can take place over millions of years as a result precipitation from ambient ocean water, or orders of magnitude more rapidly from hydrothermal activity related to magmatic and tectonic processes. Here, we review associations between transform faults and related fracture zones ...
Duarte, Joao C.; Gartman, Amy; Hein, James R. Mineral phase-element associations based on sequential leaching of ferromanganese crusts, Amerasia Basin Arctic Ocean
Ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts from Mendeleev Ridge, Chukchi Borderland, and Alpha Ridge, in the Amerasia Basin, Arctic Ocean, are similar based on morphology and chemical composition. The crusts are characterized by a two- to four-layered stratigraphy. The chemical composition of the Arctic crusts differs significantly from hydrogenetic crusts from...
Konstantinova, Natalia; Hein, James R.; Gartman, Amy; Mizell, Kira; Barrulas, Pedro; Cherkashov, Georgy; Mikhailik, Pavel; Khanchuk, Alexander Arctic deep-water ferromanganese-oxide deposits reflect the unique characteristics of the Arctic Ocean
Little is known about marine mineral deposits in the Arctic Ocean, an ocean dominated by continental shelf and basins semi-closed to deep-water circulation. Here, we present data for ferromanganese crusts and nodules collected from the Amerasia Arctic Ocean in 2008, 2009, and 2012 (HLY0805, HLY0905, HLY1202). We determined mineral and chemical...
Hein, James R.; Konstantinova, Natalia; Mikesell, Mariah; Mizell, Kira; Fitzsimmons, Jessica N.; Lam, Phoebe; Jensen, Laramie T.; Xiang, Yang; Gartman, Amy; Cherkashov, Georgy; Hutchinson, Deborah; Till, Claire P. Reconstructing the evolution of the submarine Monterey Canyon System from Os, Nd, and Pb isotopes in hydrogenetic Fe-Mn crusts
The sources of terrestrial material delivered to the California margin over the past 7 Myr were assessed using 187Os/188Os, Nd, and Pb isotopes in hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts from three seamounts along the central and southern California margin. From 6.8 to 4.5 (± 0.5) Ma, all three isotope systems show more radiogenic values at...
Conrad, T.A.; Nielsen, S.G.; Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernhard; Blusztajn, J.; Winslow, D.; Hein, James R.; Paytan, A.
Dredging Up Clues to the Geologic History and Mineral Resources of the Rio Grande Rise, Southwest Atlantic Ocean
USGS scientists focused on finding iron-manganese crusts, whose chemistry reveals how the ocean has changed throughout millennia. The crusts also contain valuable elements like cobalt, molybdenum, and the very rare metals tellurium and platinum, which make them of economic interest.
Collecting clues to the geologic history and mineral resources of the Rio Grande Rise, southwest Atlantic Ocean
USGS scientists James Hein and Kira Mizell participated in a University of São Paulo research cruise to the western Rio Grande Rise, an underwater plateau in international waters of the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil.
Unusual Mineral Deposits Record the Unique History of the Arctic Ocean
Little is known about marine mineral deposits in the Arctic Ocean, an ocean dominated by shallow areas of continental shelf and deep basins with limited circulation. USGS scientists and their colleagues have published the first comprehensive paper on this subject.
James Hein Wins Prestigious Moore Medal Award from the International Marine Minerals Society
Research geologist is awarded for his 43-year scientific career dedicated to the study of marine minerals with the USGS.