Mesozoic and Cenozoic uplift–exhumation of the central Taihang Mountains and its influence on deposits preservation in the central North China Craton: apatite–zircon fission track thermochronology

The Taihang Mountains are located in the central part of the North China Craton. The genesis of this mineralisation is closely associated with several Mesozoic plutons and coeval dykes. The preservation and alteration of these deposits depend to a large extent on the regional uplift and exhumation processes that occurred subsequent to their formation. This study applies apatite and zircon fission track thermochronology to the Mapeng–Chiwawu plutons. AFT central ages: 33 ± 2–14 ± 2 Ma, with mean fission track lengths: 12.4 ± 1.7–13.2 ± 2.2 μm. ZFT central ages: 110 ± 4–33 ± 2 Ma. Combined with previous zircon U–Pb and whole-rock Rb–Sr age data, our new data reveal three distinct cooling episodes: (1) Late Cretaceous (110–68 Ma), (2) Palaeocene to Eocene (65–36 Ma), (3) Late Eocene to Miocene (35–5 Ma). A comprehensive analysis employing the mineral pair method and thermal history modelling method indicates that the Mapeng–Chiwawu plutons have undergone approximately 3.1–3.5 km of uplift and exhumation since its emplacement and crystallisation. This value is significantly lower than the mineralisation depths of the Chiwawu Cu–Mo Deposit and Shihu Gold Deposit (3–5 km and 5–8 km, respectively), which are closely genetically associated with the intrusion, indicating that this area holds important potential for mineral exploration.