The fall of the meteorite might have been observed in 1516, but it is difficult to assess if this event is connected with the pieces that were retrieved in 1958. The meteorite burst during passage through the atmosphere and the pieces were scattered in a
strewn field long and wide near the city of
Nantan,
Nandan County,
Guangxi (
China). The meteorite was named after the city. The fragments were not retrieved until the 1950s when they were gathered for
smelting to make metal for the growing industrialization of China. It was found that the
meteoric iron contained too much
nickel for
smelting. ==Description and Classification==