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Victor A. Valencia
Washington State University
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Abstract
Fe – Au skarn deposits related to intrusive centers, mostly of granodioritic composition, are widespread in southern Mexico’s Guerrero
state. These intrusive rocks are largely associated with the NW– SE-oriented Laramide magmatic belt that extends across most of western
Mexico. The geochemical composition and ages of representative rocks from the Mezcala mining district in central Guerrero are studied to
evaluate the petrogenetic aspects of the ore-related magmas. Some major and trace elements display nearly linear silica variation trends,
which suggest a possible comagmatic origin. However, other elements have scattered distributions, possibly due to irregular mantle-to-crust
magma mixing ratios, heterogeneities in the composition of the assimilated crustal material, or modifications during the emplacement or
postemplacement processes. Major element chemistry indicates calc-alkalic metaluminous compositions, whereas trace element data suggest
a volcanic arc tectonic setting, confirming that these rocks evolved from magmas generated above a subduction zone. Compared with the
Laramide granites from the northern part of the belt in northwestern Mexico, which intruded a crust underlain by Proterozoic North American
rocks, the studied samples are similar but relatively low in Nb and high in Sr, the middle rare earth elements (REE), P, and Zr. They also
display minor Ti enrichments and a moderate depletion in the heavy REE. These characteristics may indicate a source of basaltic
composition. New 40Ar/39Ar dating of granodiorites and dacite porphyries shows a north-to-south age progression from 66.2 ^ 0.8 Ma in the
northern part of the belt to 62.2 ^ 0.7 Ma in the south. Moreover, the argon dates identify a younger postorogenic igneous event 35– 30 Ma
ago. This event is poorly documented and may have occurred after the extinction of the Laramide arc and prior to the mid-Tertiary Sierra
Madre Occidental ignimbrite flare-up. On the basis of limited geochemical data, these rocks appear to be depleted in P2O5 and Sr and
enriched in U relative to the studied Laramide granites. A Fe skarn deposit located in Buena Vista de Cuéllar, in the north central part of
Guerrero, suggests that this magmatic pulse took place after the ore development of the Mezcala district.
q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fe skarn; Gold; Granitoids; Guerrero; Laramide; Southern Mexico
Fig. 1. Location map showing the main basement domains in Guerrero and neighbor states, as well as localities cited in the text. The inset map shows the
location of the study area at a more regional scale.
Fig. 2. Map of the study area referred to in the text as the Mezcala mining district showing the lithological units and cited localities, as well as the studied
sample sites (sample ABC-07, collected in Buena Vista de Cuéllar, is off the map, but its location may be discerned through Fig. 1).
0.2 –1 m thick beds of gray limestone and cherty limestone. the locally developed Fe skarn deposits, which are some-
The lower unit is composed of laminated to massive gray times accompanied by gold mineralization. Mid- to late
and pinkish limestone, as well as dolomitic horizons up to Tertiary volcanic rocks of the Sierra Madre Occidental
70 m thick. The Morelos Formation is conformably overlain province, including rhyolite, trachyte, and minor andesite,
by the Cuautla Formation of Turonian age, which consists of are unconformably deposited over these rocks.
, 160 m of thinly bedded calcareous shale and limestone. The Mezcala mining district covers an area of , 50 km2
The Cuautla Formation in turn is conformably overlain by and comprises many intrusion-centered gold deposits,
the upper Cretaceous Mezcala Formation of Coniacian – particularly between the cities of Chilpancingo and Iguala
Campanian age, which consists of , 1200 m of thinly (Fig. 1). The most prominent mining localities are Nukay
bedded calcareous shale, mudstone, limestone, and and Bermejal (Fig. 2). The former contains resources
sandstone. exceeding 4.8 million ounces of gold at an average of
Late Cretaceous to early Tertiary plutons and younger 2.56 g/ton Au (Chapleau Resources LTD, press release)
mid-Tertiary dacite plugs cut the carbonate sequence and distributed in three main deposits: Nukay, Agüita, and Los
208 D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217
Filos (Jones and Jackson, 1999b). The latter contains accessory minerals. Quartz phenocrysts are included in a
resources of , 1 million ounces of gold in 34 million tons fine-grained matrix of plagioclase and quartz and commonly
of ore at 1.1 g/ton Au (de la Garza et al., 1996). The different show corrosion gulfs.
deposits are located within a 25 km long, NW – SE intrusive The studied intrusive rocks were affected by at least two
belt from north of Balsas to Xochipala (Fig. 2). Hydrother- of the following alteration assemblages: (1) biotite ^
mal alteration, including potassic, phyllic, propylitic, and orthoclase (potassic alteration); (2) actinolite – epidote –
argillic envelopes, appears in most mineralized sites near chlorite (propillitic alteration); (3) calcite þ quartz; or (4)
the intrusive contacts. Skarns, marble, and hornfels develop chlorite – iron oxide ^ sericite – calcite. The intrusives
at the contacts with limestones, sandstones, and shales of the located to the north in the Balsas– Xochipala trend show
Morelos and Mezcala Formations. no evidence of potassic alteration, whereas those emplaced
in the south display widespread hydrothermal biotite. The
skarn mineralogy near the contact with the intrusive rocks is
3. Petrography characterized by pyroxene, orthoclase, epidote, calcite, and
quartz.
The studied rocks are mostly granodiorites and dacite
porphyries, classified on the basis of rock-thin section
petrography and major element geochemistry. Granodior- 4. Sample preparation, analytical techniques, and results
ites consist of oligoclase, quartz, biotite, and hornblende,
with apatite, titanite, and zircon as the main accessory The samples were collected from the relatively fresher
phases. Most studied samples show slight to moderate parts of the exposures. The rocks were hammered to
alteration to chlorite –calcite and sericite. Intrusive rocks in fragments of about 4 in. wide in the sample site and
the Balsas – Xochipala trend (Fig. 2) display hypidio- selectively handpicked to avoid highly altered fragments.
morphic to porphyritic and sometimes granophyiric The fragments then were washed with distilled water. After
textures. Dacite porphyries contain oligoclase, hornblende, perfectly dried, the samples were crushed in a steel-jaw
biotite, quartz, and feldspar, with zircon and titanite as crusher into one-half inch wide gravel. A representative
Table 1
Concentrations of major elements (wt %) and CIPW normative mineralogy
GM-51 GM-49 GM-46 GM-54 GM-63 GM-48 GM-11 GM-31 GM-13 TLA VAV-22 LS GM-33 ABC-07
SiO2 66.95 64.18 66.83 66.48 64.37 66.58 64.16 76.30 67.99 67.26 56.97 66.71 58.16 68.54
TiO2 0.56 0.84 0.63 0.63 0.83 0.61 0.83 0.05 0.53 0.61 1.35 0.68 0.65 0.48
Al2O3 15.80 15.91 15.36 15.52 15.12 15.55 15.76 12.70 15.88 14.52 14.65 15.70 13.53 14.50
Fe2O3 1.36 1.79 1.50 1.48 0.64 1.53 2.14 0.44 1.39 1.37 3.87 1.64 2.40 1.02
FeO 1.73 2.28 1.91 1.89 0.82 1.95 2.72 0.56 1.77 1.74 4.93 2.08 3.06 1.30
MnO 0.04 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.02 0.05 0.07 0.00 0.03 0.04 0.12 0.03 0.28 0.04
MgO 2.52 2.21 2.40 2.54 3.42 2.74 2.87 0.04 1.46 2.01 5.34 1.99 3.31 1.39
CaO 3.94 7.91 3.63 4.28 6.69 3.35 4.38 0.13 3.10 5.00 6.20 4.01 11.34 5.28
Na2O 4.09 2.08 4.20 3.90 3.91 4.40 3.74 0.29 4.60 3.60 3.37 3.83 6.20 2.87
K2 O 2.79 2.40 3.24 2.98 3.80 3.01 3.03 9.45 3.06 3.64 2.66 3.10 0.92 4.47
P2O5 0.22 0.37 0.24 0.26 0.37 0.22 0.29 0.02 0.19 0.21 0.53 0.22 0.16 0.11
LOI 3.20 7.80 0.40 4.50 2.15 3.75 0.50 0.70 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.80 4.00 1.30
TotalO 99.39 100.20 98.71 99.86 100.02 99.57 100.09 99.91 98.95 99.92 98.40 100.19 100.11 99.93
A/CNK 0.93 0.78 0.90 0.89 0.67 0.94 0.91 1.16 0.96 0.77 0.74 0.93 0.43 0.76
Qz 20.74 26.00 19.43 20.38 12.69 18.54 17.66 37.97 20.81 21.12 7.95 21.47 23.92
Co – – – – – – – 1.81 – – – – – –
Or 16.47 14.17 19.13 17.59 22.43 17.77 17.89 55.78 18.06 21.49 15.70 18.30 5.43 26.39
Ab 34.57 17.58 35.50 32.97 33.05 37.19 31.61 2.45 38.88 30.43 28.49 32.37 50.15 24.26
An 16.51 26.98 13.49 16.04 12.48 13.79 17.26 0.52 13.65 12.71 16.99 16.49 6.38 13.48
Ne – – – – – – – – – – – – 1.22 –
Di 1.27 7.86 2.35 2.78 14.28 1.11 2.06 0.00 0.40 8.54 8.26 1.57 23.61 9.03
Hy 6.86 3.14 6.14 6.27 1.90 7.68 8.13 0.68 4.71 2.08 13.17 5.59 – –
Hm – – – – 0.43 – – – – – – – – –
Mt 1.98 2.60 2.18 2.15 0.30 2.22 3.11 – 2.02 1.99 5.62 2.38 3.49 1.48
Il 1.07 1.60 1.20 1.20 1.58 1.16 1.58 0.64 1.01 1.16 2.57 1.29 1.24 0.91
Ap 0.48 0.81 0.52 0.57 0.81 0.48 0.63 0.10 0.41 0.46 1.16 0.48 0.35 0.24
Notes: analyses by ICP–MS in the SGS-XRAL Laboratories in Ont., Canada. Major oxide concentration recalculated on anhydrous basis to sum 100%.
The original totals (TotalO) and the loss on ignition (LOI) values are also indicated. A/CNK: molar ratio of Al2O3/(CaO þ Na2O þ K2O).
D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217 209
Fig. 3. Major element-silica variation diagrams showing the composition of the studied Laramide granitic rocks (solid diamonds) and younger mid-Tertiary
plutons (open squares). The shaded area represents the field of Laramide granites from northwestern Mexico (Roldán-Quintana, 1991; Valencia-Moreno et al.,
2001).
portion of the gravel was selected and powdered in an the results and corresponding CIPW normative mineralogy
agate mill for major and trace element analyses using appear in Table 1. Major element oxides were recalculated
the rock-crushing facilities of the Escuela Regional de on an anhydrous basis to sum 100%. In the case of sample
Ciencias de la Tierra of the Universidad Autónoma de GM-49, which yielded a loss on ignition value (LOI) of
Guerrero. 7.8%, the results might not be good.
The studied samples range from 57.3 to 76.3 wt% SiO2,
4.1. Major elements though , 80% lie between 64.2 and 68.5 wt% SiO2. Most of
the major element oxides decrease with silica content, with
Our argon geochronological data, which are described the exception of K2O, which vaguely increases (Fig. 3), and
subsequently, suggest the skarn mineralization observed in Al2O3 and Na2O, which display a more erratic distribution.
the study area occurred during two temporally distinctive Although the variations between the LG and the MTG do
magma pulses: one between 64.5 and 68 Ma ago and a not require much discussion, particularly because the MTG
younger one between 30 and 35 Ma ago. We therefore are represented by only two samples, P2O5 appears more
treated the studied sample rocks as two separate intrusive depleted for the MTG (Fig. 3). In an AFM diagram, all but
groups, one referred to as the ‘Laramide granites’ (LG) one of the samples follow a typical calc-alkaline trend
and the other one as the ‘Mid-Tertiary granites’ (MTG). The (Fig. 4). The distinct sample (GM-31) is also of calc-
major element analyses were commercially performed in the alkaline composition but has very low total iron as FeO
XRAL Laboratories, Ont., Canada, by X-ray fluorescence; and MgO concentrations. The studied samples fall in
210 D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217
Fig. 4. AFM diagram showing the calc-alkaline-tholeiitic series boundary rocks from central Guerrero are relatively more enriched in
of Irvine and Baragar (1971) for the studied plutons of central Guerrero. A,
F, M: weight percentage of Na2O þ K2O, total iron as FeO and MgO, MgO, Fe2O3, TiO2, and P2O5 (Fig. 3).
respectively. Symbols are as in Fig. 3.
4.2. Trace elements
the medium and, particularly, high K regions of the K2O –
SiO2 diagram (Fig. 5). Also, they plot in the metaluminous The concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and
field on the basis of their relatively low molar alkali ratio other geologically important trace elements in the studied
(Fig. 6), with the exception of the more silica-rich, samples were analyzed by ICP – MS techniques in the SGS-
peraluminous granitoid (Table 1). The weight percentage XRAL Laboratories, Ont., Canada; the results appear in
(Na2O þ K2O) versus SiO2 diagram shows dominantly Table 2. The trace element concentrations of the studied
granodioritic compositions (Fig. 7). The two less silica-rich rocks show scattered distributions in silica variation plots
samples lie in the diorite field. All the samples plot in the (Fig. 8). In general, no diagnostic differences between the
subalkaline region; however, the more silica-rich sample composition of the LG and the MTG are observed in Fig. 8;
(GM-31) also plots in the alkali-granite region. however, strontium and uranium in the MTG appear to be
Compared with Laramide granites from northwestern relatively low and high, respectively. Compared with the
Mexico, which were emplaced in a crust underlain by compositional spectra of the Laramide granites from
Proterozoic rocks of North American affinity, the studied northwestern Mexico, the studied LG samples are relatively
Fig. 7. Granitic rock classification based on the alkali versus silica diagram
of Wilson (1989) showing the alkalic–subalkalic rock boundary. Gb:
gabbro; Di: diorite; Gd: granodiorite; Gr: granite; AGr: alkali granite.
Fig. 5. K2O –SiO2 diagram showing the boundaries of Le Maitre et al. Symbols are as in Fig. 3. The data for the northwestern Mexico granites are
(1989). Symbols are as in Fig. 3. from Roldán-Quintana (1991) and Valencia-Moreno et al. (2001).
D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217 211
Table 2
Concentrations of some trace elements (ppm)
GM-51 GM-46 GM-54 GM-63 GM-48 GM-11 GM-31 GM-13 TLA VAV-22 LS GM-49 GM-33 ABC-07
La 33.00 45.00 38.00 35.00 32.00 39.00 12.80 33.00 25.00 53.00 40.00 43.00 16.50 34.00
Ce 69.00 92.00 80.00 92.00 64.00 80.00 27.00 67.00 55.00 122.00 79.00 91.00 35.00 74.00
Pr 8.30 10.90 9.60 13.10 7.90 9.90 3.40 8.50 7.10 16.30 9.40 11.00 4.40 9.20
Nd 34.00 45.00 40.00 59.00 31.00 39.00 12.20 34.00 29.00 68.00 37.00 46.00 18.90 37.00
Sm 5.60 7.20 6.40 10.30 5.40 6.80 3.00 5.90 5.30 12.80 6.50 7.30 4.10 7.90
Eu 1.50 1.82 1.66 2.51 1.54 1.76 0.31 1.42 1.38 2.45 1.63 1.90 1.39 0.92
Gd 4.10 5.50 4.50 7.30 4.10 5.60 3.10 4.10 4.30 10.30 4.70 5.10 4.20 8.20
Tb 0.40 0.50 0.40 0.70 0.50 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.40 1.10 0.50 0.50 0.60 1.20
Dy 2.00 2.80 2.40 3.90 2.30 3.20 3.20 2.00 2.50 6.50 2.70 2.60 3.70 8.00
Ho 0.34 0.46 0.37 0.63 0.39 0.55 0.61 0.35 0.41 1.10 0.43 0.42 0.67 1.51
Er 0.90 1.30 1.00 1.80 1.10 1.60 1.90 0.90 1.10 3.10 1.30 1.10 2.20 4.80
Tm 0.10 0.20 0.10 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.40 0.20 0.10 0.30 0.70
Yb 0.80 1.30 0.80 1.50 1.00 1.40 2.10 0.80 1.10 2.80 1.10 1.00 2.20 4.80
Lu 0.11 0.16 0.12 0.21 0.15 0.30 0.29 0.11 0.18 0.39 0.14 0.13 0.33 0.72
Y 10 13 10 14 9 14 14 8 9 32 12 11 22 37
Cs 4 6 8 2 2 7 2 4 3 4 2 4 5 4
Ba 1320 1540 1550 913 1110 1320 719 1430 924 1060 1510 713 102 546
Rb 70 87 72 100 66 80 227 72 75 76 79 62 39 132
Sr 969 1040 1160 919 777 901 74 1000 728 729 896 321 278 264
Th 8 10 8 12 9 9 8 8 9 8 9 8 6 16
U 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 2 3 2 2 2 2 5
Nb 5 9 6 8 7 8 7 6 7 12 8 7 6 10
Zr 157 193 173 247 177 199 58 136 166 230 190 191 119 154
Fig. 8. Silica variation diagrams of some trace element concentrations in ppm for the studied samples. Symbols are as in Fig. 3. The data for the Laramide
granitoids from northwestern Mexico (shaded area; open where data go out of the diagram field) are from Valencia-Moreno et al. (2001).
212 D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217
Fig. 10. Chondrite-normalized multielement (spider) diagram of selected major and trace element concentrations of plutonic rocks arranged in order of
compatibility with a mantle melt. (a) Laramide granitic rocks of the Mezcala mining district (samples GM-31 and VAV-22 not shown) compared with the
spectra of the northwestern Mexico Laramide granites (shaded area) from Valencia-Moreno et al. (2001). (b) Mid-Tertiary studied plutons compared with the
main field of the Mezcala mining district Laramide intrusions. The normalizing values are from Anders and Grevesse (1989).
5. Discussion
Fig. 11. Rb 2 (Y þ Nb) tectonic discrimination diagram showing the fields
of Pearce et al. (1984) for the studied intrusive rocks. VAG: volcanic arc
40 39
Our new Ar/ Ar age data suggest that the most granites; syn-COLG: syncollisional granites; ORG: ocean-ridge granites;
productive metallogenetic stage in the Mezcala mining WPG: within-plate granites. Symbols are as in Fig. 3.
214 D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217
Table 3
40
Ar/39Ar age data for intrusive rocks from the Mezcala mining district, Guerrero, Mexico
40
Sample Locality Rock Mineral Integrated Isochron Ar/36Ar Mean plateau
age (Ma) age (Ma) age (Ma)
LS Nukay Granodiorite Biotite 65.0 ^ 0.9 64.0 ^ 0.8 320 ^ 5 64.2 ^ 0.8
LS Nukay Granodiorite Biotite 64.2 ^ 0.8 64.0 ^ 0.8 293 ^ 25 64.0 ^ 0.8
GM-13 Chilpancingo Granodiorite Biotite 61.0 ^ 0.9 60.6 ^ 0.7 309 ^ 4 60.8 ^ 0.8
GM-13 Chilpancingo Granodiorite Biotite 61.9 ^ 0.7 62.1 ^ 0.6 302 ^ 18 62.2 ^ 0.7
GM-11 Bermejal Granodiorite Biotite 64.3 ^ 0.8 64.2 ^ 0.8 304 ^ 18 64.3 ^ 0.8
GM-11 Bermejal Granodiorite Biotite 65.2 ^ 0.9 64.5 ^ 0.9 316 ^ 4 64.6 ^ 0.9
GM-46 La Fundición Granodiorite Biotite 65.0 ^ 1.0 65.0 ^ 0.8 303 ^ 7 65.0 ^ 1.0
GM-46 La Fundición Granodiorite Biotite 66.0 ^ 0.9 65.9 ^ 0.9 312 ^ 9 66.0 ^ 0.9
GM-51 Cuetzala Dacite porph. Biotite 67.6 ^ 0.9 66.2 ^ 0.8 324 ^ 5 66.4 ^ 0.9
GM-51 Cuetzala Dacite porph. Biotite 68.0 ^ 1.0 68.0 ^ 1.0 320 ^ 6 68.0 ^ 1.0
GM-33 Amatitlán Dacite porph. Whole-rock 41.0 ^ 4.0 29.7 ^ 0.8 329 ^ 3 –
GM-33 Amatitlán Dacite porph. Whole-rock 45.0 ^ 2.0 29.0 ^ 2.0 341 ^ 7 –
GM-33 Amatitlán Dacite porph. Whole-rock – 30.0 ^ 2.0 – –
ABC-07 Buena Vista Granodiorite Biotite 37.0 ^ 0.7 35.1 ^ 0.6 334 ^ 11 35.5 ^ 0.6
ABC-07 Buena Vista Granodiorite Biotite 35.1 ^ 0.6 33.9 ^ 0.5 323 ^ 7 34.7 ^ 0.6
Fig. 12. 39Ar/40Ar data for Laramide granites (LG): GM-46 (Balsas-La Fundición), GM-13 (Chilpancingo), GM-51 (Cuetzala), GM-11 (Bermejal), and LS
(Nukay).
D. Meza-Figueroa et al. / Journal of South American Earth Sciences 16 (2003) 205–217 215
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Jones, D.M., Jackson, P.R., 1999b. Geologic setting of skarn-associated
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partly) removed from previously mineralized ore bodies, Le Maitre, R.W., Bateman, P., Dudek, A., Keller, J., Lameyre, J., Le Bas,
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A.R., Zanettin, B., 1989. A Classification of Igneous Rocks and
apparently absent in these younger deposits.
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C., Ayuso, R.A., 2000. Stratigraphy, geochemistry and tectonic
Acknowledgements significance of the Oligocene magmatic rocks of western Oaxaca,
southern Mexico. Tectonophysics 318, 71–98.
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Funding for this research was partially provided by the terciario de la Sierra Madre del Sur y sus relaciones con la evolución
Miranda Mining Development Corporation through Com- tectónica del Sur de México, Simposio sobre el Sur de México
pañı́a Minera Nukay and by SIBEJ-CONACyT grant Morán-Zenteno, D.J., Schaaf, P., Kohler, H., Urrutia-Fucugauchi, J., 1993.
#980506037 to Victor A. Valencia. We thank to Dante Consideraciones acerca de la petrogénesis de los intrusivos de la región
de Acapulco, basadas en datos isotópicos de Sr y Nd. Contribución a la
Morán-Zenteno and Oscar Talavera-Mendoza for revisions
Tectónica de Occidente de México. Unión Geofı́sica Mexicana,
to and excellent comments on a previous version of the Monografı́a 1, 305–326.
manuscript, which greatly improved the final version. We Ortiz-Hernández-Mendoza, L.E., Yta, M., Talavera-Mendoza, O.,
express our appreciation to the University of Guerrero for Lapierre, H., Monod, O., Tardy, M., 1991. Origine intra-oceanique
logistical support through the Escuela Regional de Ciencias des deformations volcano-plutoniques d’arc du Jurassique Superieur
Cretace Inferieur du Mexique centro-meridional. Comptes Rendus de
de la Tierra (ERCT). We are grateful to Ricardo Vega,
l’ Académie des Sciences (Serie II), 312, 399–406.
Jerónimo Rodrı́guez, Julio César de la Cruz, Angel Avilez, Pearce, J.A., Harris, N.B.W., Tindle, A.G., 1984. Trace element
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