(U-Th)/He thermochronology constraints on Cenozoic exhumation of Ke’eryin lithium ore field, eastern Tibet

• ZHe and AHe age-elevation plots reveal two-phase exhumation during late Cenozoic. • Total erosion of ∼5 km since the Late Oligocene. • The less denudation of footwall makes it a more favorable prospecting target. The Ke’eryin lithium ore field, located in the east of Songpan-Ganzi orogenic belt of Tibetan Plateau, is an important lithium-producing field hosting multiple pegmatite deposits in large to super-large scale. A more complete exhumation history of this ore field is required, and favorable prospecting locations need further identification. Here, we applied (U-Th)/He dating combined with a vertical profile sampling strategy to quantitatively constrain the exhumation process of the Ke’eryin lithium ore field. Zircon (U-Th)/He (ZHe) data and thermal history modeling reveal fast cooling during ∼28–24 Ma, linked to crustal shortening during the India-Eurasia collision. This phase removed ∼3.3 km of overburden, reducing burial depths from ∼5.3 km to ∼2 km. Age-elevation relationships of apatite (U-Th)/He (AHe) combined with thermal history modeling reveal rapid cooling at ∼15 Ma. This rapid cooling episode resulted from the regional uplift and exhumation, with amplification by river incision. The hanging wall (north) experienced greater denudation than the footwall (south), making the footwall a more favorable prospecting area. Combining the zircon and apatite (U-Th)/He data, we calculate a total erosion amount of approximately ∼5 km in the Ke’eryin lithium ore field since the Late Oligocene.