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Hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts are widespread on the floor of the northwestern Pacific Ocean, south and east of the Japanese Islands, despite vigorous tectonic activity, such as subduction and back-arc spreading, since at least the Mid-Paleogene over the Philippine Sea Plate region and nearby. The crusts occur mainly at water depths shallower than 3000 m, but also at greater depths of up to 6000 m. Fine-scale 10 Be/ 9 Be dating was undertaken on several 5-10 cm thick hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts sampled from different geological environments, including inactive submarine volcanoes, tectonic escarpments and abandoned rifts. The results indicate that the crusts have grown at relatively constant rates of 4-7 mm/my without any significant time breaks. These uniform and constant growth rates suggest that the basins have been exposed constantly to oxygenated bottom waters since their formation in the Middle Miocene (ca 15 Ma) or earlier. Local geological or oceanographic environmental changes might have slowed or increased some of the growth rates resulting in correlation of some internal structures. The Philippine Sea Plate region could have economic potential in areas of thick hydrogenetic ferromanganese crusts over a wide range of water depths.

Low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits constitute a major exploration target for many mining companies worldwide. These deposits are commonly characterized by quartz vein systems which formed at temperatures often in the range 150°-250°C giving rise to major alteration halos. Accompanying mineralization and associated alteration is the destruction and redistribution of magnetite in the host rocks and the formation of various K-bearing minerals such as adularia, illite and alunite. These alteration halos can often cover an area of at least several square kilometres and as such have the potential to be detected during reconnaissance geological surveys utilizing high resolution airborne aeromagnetic and radiometric sensors.Analysis of airborne magnetic and radiometric data recently acquired over the Hokusatsu Region of SW Kyushu indicates that major low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits are characterized by several distinct geophysical features varying with the degree of post-mineralization cover and level of erosion. Several deposits coincide with extensive magnetic "flat" and high radiometric K-counts. In addition, several workers have shown that a very close association exists between Bouguer gravity highs and epithermal Au mineralization in the Hokusatsu Region. The combined use of areomagnetics, radiometrics and gravity data therefore provides an exceptionally effective approach to exploration for low sulphidation epithermal Au-Ag deposits in the Hokusatsu Region of Japan.

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