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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

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stibnite specimen

Antimony In and Around the Yellow Pine Deposit, Central Idaho

Project objectives are to document the origin of the Yellow Pine gold-antimony deposit and, by extension, the origin of this deposit type. Our goal is to understand the structural, tectonic, and magmatic setting of the deposit, the character of the ore-transporting fluids, the conditions of ore deposition, and the regional stratigraphic framework and geochemical ore controls of metasedimentary...
By
Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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Antimony In and Around the Yellow Pine Deposit, Central Idaho

Project objectives are to document the origin of the Yellow Pine gold-antimony deposit and, by extension, the origin of this deposit type. Our goal is to understand the structural, tectonic, and magmatic setting of the deposit, the character of the ore-transporting fluids, the conditions of ore deposition, and the regional stratigraphic framework and geochemical ore controls of metasedimentary...
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Geochemical data for the Thunder Mountain volcanic field and dikes in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district region

This dataset contains whole rock geochemical data for volcanic rocks, both extrusive rocks of the western part of the Thunder Mountain volcanic field and hypabyssal dikes in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district and in the Pistol Creek dike swarm, which are in central Idaho. Major oxides and trace elements are included, which are reported as percentages and parts per million, respectively. Major oxide
By
Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Mallnock, Wolfram Camp, and Andrew Curtis Scheelite and Wolframite U-Pb Isotope Data

Uranium and lead isotope ratios from (1) scheelite from ore deposits near Mallnock, Austria, (2) wolframite from the Wolfram Camp mine, Australia, and (3) scheelite from the Andrew Curtis mine near Los Angeles, California are provided in spreadsheet format. Data from four analysis sessions are included and separated according to both analysis data and mineral analyzed meaning 4 spreadsheets. For t
By
Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Geospatial Files for the Geologic Map of the Stibnite Mining Area, Valley County, Idaho

These geospatial files are the essential components for the Geologic Map of the Stibnite Mining Area in Valley County, Idaho, which was published by the Idaho Geological Survey in 2022. Three main file types are in this dataset: geographic, geologic, and mining. Geographic files are map extent, lidar base, topographic contours, labels for contours, waterways, and roads. Geologic files are geologic
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Garnet Lu-Hf Ages and Isotope Data for the Stibnite, Idaho Area

Garnet Lu-Hf ages of the schist of Moores Station Formation (112.8 plus or minus 6.9 Ma) and a cross-cutting garnetiferous felsic dike (99.3 plus or minus 2.0 Ma) are the main contributions of this dataset. Ages are determined with lower-intercept isochron plots from multiple garnet and whole rock fractions, and garnet model age plots show distribution of garnet fractions with excluded points gray
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Isotopic ratios and element concentrations of U-Pb and Sm-Nd for scheelite petrochronology

Instrument, standard, and sample data from application of in situ laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) dating of scheelite in thin section, and sample data from isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) scheelite dating are in this data release. Fractionation factor and ratio data in between NIST glass and natural scheelite as well as isotope
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
stibnite specimen
Stibnite Mineral Specimen
Stibnite Mineral Specimen
stibnite specimen

Stibnite Mineral Specimen

Stibnite Mineral Specimen

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.

By
Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
stibnite specimen

Stibnite Mineral Specimen

Stibnite Mineral Specimen

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.

By
Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Polyphase stratabound scheelite-ferberite mineralization at Mallnock, Eastern Alps, Austria

A peculiar type of stratabound tungsten mineralization in metacarbonate rocks was discovered and explored at Mallnock (Austria) during the late 1980s. It is the only tungsten occurrence in the Eastern Alps in which scheelite is associated with wolframite (96 mol% ferberite). The tungsten prospect is located in the Austroalpine Drauzug-Gurktal Nappe System recording polyphase low-grade regional met
Authors
Florian Altenberger, Joachim Krause, Niki E. Wintzer, Christoph Iglseder, Jasper Berndt, Kai Bachmann, Johann Raith
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Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Critical minerals in subduction-related magmatic-hydrothermal systems of the United States

During the World War and Cold War eras (1910s–1990s), domestic consumption of numerous mineral commodities relied increasingly on imported supplies. Consumption reliance has since expanded to include 50 “critical minerals” (elements and mineral commodities) that are mostly to entirely imported and subject to curtailment by suppliers or supply chain disruption. New domestic supplies of critical min
Authors
Peter Vikre, David John, Niki E. Wintzer, Fleetwood Koutz, Frederick Graybeal, Chris Dail, David C. Annis
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Geologic map of the Stibnite mining area, Valley County, Idaho

The Stibnite mining area, as used herein, is bounded by the map extent that includes the Yellow Pine, West End, and Hangar Flats ore bodies. Other ore bodies are nearby, but the purpose of this map is to offer a detailed (1:8,000 scale) geologic map with new cross sections in the immediate area of Stibnite, Idaho. This geologic map is very similar to the Stibnite quadrangle map (Stewart and others
Authors
Niki E. Wintzer
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

U-Pb scheelite ages of tungsten and antimony mineralization in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district, central Idaho

The Stibnite-Yellow Pine district contains the largest antimony resource in the United States, as well as significant gold, and is a historic producer of tungsten. Application of in situ laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) direct dating of scheelite from two Au-Sb-W ore deposits, Yellow Pine and Hangar Flats, yielded an older group of U-Pb ages in the range of 6
Authors
Niki E. Wintzer, Mark D. Schmitz, Virginia S. Gillerman, Jeffrey D. Vervoort
By
Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Qualitative assessment of selected areas of the world for undiscovered sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits: Chapter Y in Global mineral resource assessment

A qualitative mineral resource assessment of sediment-hosted stratabound copper mineralized areas for undiscovered copper deposits was performed for 10 selected areas of the world. The areas, in alphabetical order, are (1) Belt-Purcell Basin, United States and Canada; (2) Benguela and Cuanza Basins, Angola; (3) Chuxiong Basin, China; (4) Dongchuan Group rocks, China; (5) Egypt–Israel–Jordan Rift,
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, Niki E. Wintzer, Timothy S. Hayes, Heather L. Parks, Deborah A. Briggs, J. Douglas Causey, Shyla A. Hatch, M. Christopher Jenkins, David J. Williams
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Antimony: a flame fighter

Antimony is a brittle, silvery-white semimetal that conducts heat poorly. The chemical compound antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) is widely used in plastics, rubbers, paints, and textiles, including industrial safety suits and some children’s clothing, to make them resistant to the spread of flames. Also, sodium antimonate (NaSbO3) is used during manufacturing of high-quality glass, which is found in cell
Authors
Niki E. Wintzer, David E. Guberman
By
Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, National Minerals Information Center

Sediment-hosted stratabound copper assessment of the Neoproterozoic Roan Group, central African copperbelt, Katanga Basin, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia

This study estimates the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered copper in stratabound deposits within the Neoproterozoic Roan Group of the Katanga Basin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. The study area encompasses the Central African Copperbelt, the greatest sediment-hosted copper-cobalt province in the world, containing 152 million metric tons of copper in greater than
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, James D. Bliss, David W. Broughton, Michael Christie, Paul Denning, Timothy S. Hayes, Murray W. Hitzman, John D. Horton, Susan Frost-Killian, Douglas J. Jack, Sharad Master, Heather L. Parks, Cliff D. Taylor, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Jon Woodhead
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits of the Kodar-Udokan area, Russia

Mineral resource assessments integrate and synthesize available information as a basis for estimating the location, quality, and quantity of undiscovered mineral resources. This probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered sandstone copper deposits within Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the Kodar-Udokan area in Russia is a contribution to a global assessment led by the U.S.
Authors
Michael L. Zientek, Vladimir S. Chechetkin, Heather L. Parks, Stephen E. Box, Deborah A. Briggs, Pamela M. Cossette, Alla Dolgopolova, Timothy S. Hayes, Reimar Seltmann, Boris Syusyura, Cliff D. Taylor, Niki E. Wintzer
By
Mineral Resources Program

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

The Central African Copperbelt (CACB) is one of the most important copper-producing regions of the world. The majority of copper produced in Africa comes from this region defined by the Neoproterozoic Katanga sedimentary basin of the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and northern Zambia. Copper in the CACB is mined from sediment-hosted stratabound copper deposits associated with red
Authors
Cliff D. Taylor, J. Douglas Causey, Paul Denning, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Timothy S. Hayes, John D. Horton, Michael J. Kirschbaum, Heather L. Parks, Anna B. Wilson, Niki E. Wintzer, Michael L. Zientek
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Mineral Resources Program

Mineral-resource assessment of northern Nye County, Nevada— A progress report

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG), which is a part of the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), have completed the first year of data collection and analysis in preparation for a new mineral- and energy-resource assessment of northern Nye County, Nevada. This report provides information about work completed before O
Authors
Steve Ludington, David John, John L. Muntean, Andrew D. Hanson, Stephen B. Castor, Christopher D. Henry, Niki Wintzer, Jean S. Cline, Adam C. Simon
By
Mineral Resources Program

Science and Products

*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