In the early Earth there was no oxygen in the air. Therefore, any iron produced from weathering of rocks will be soluble in water and ended up in the oceans. The sea would be red in color, probably.
Later on the first plants appeared in the primitive oceans and they produced oxygen which escaped to the atmosphere. The presence of oxygen in the air changed the destiny of the iron produced from weathering. This time the iron was attacked by oxygen and iron oxides (rust) appeared on the surface of eroded rocks. The iron that was present in the sea was also attacked by the oxygen and precipitation of iron oxides filled the bottom sediments of the oceans forming deposits of BIF. All of the available iron that was present in the oceans was deposited well before the end of the Precambrian
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