Nantan meteorite

The fall of the meteorite Nantan was observed by the people of the province of Guangxi ( Chinese Empire ) in 1516.

The iron meteorite burst upon entry into the atmosphere and the fragments fell on an area of 28 × 8 km stretch near the city Nantan.

The meteorite fragments remained lying there until the end of the fifties was remembered back to them over 400 years. Under the slogan of " Great Leap Forward " of the agricultural country, China should be transformed into a modern industrial state. Here, the heavy industry has been given a great importance. Throughout the country, primitive blast furnaces were built to produce iron and steel. Fragments of Nantan meteorite were tentatively melted, but were not suitable due to the high nickel content for smelting.

The Nantan meteorite comes from the asteroid belt and is classified as a rough octahedrite the group IIICD. So far, 9.5 tons were found, the heaviest fragment weighs 2 tons. Due to the long stay in a humid environment, the findings are highly weathered and brittle.

Chemical composition: 92.35 % iron; 6.96% nickel; Traces of carbon, copper, cobalt, sulfur, phosphorus, chromium, gallium, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tungsten, rhenium, iridium, gold, rubidium, palladium, osmium, praseodymium, manganese, silver, cadmium