It is the largest iron meteorite ever found on Brazilian soil, weighing 5,360 kilograms (11,820 lb), measuring over 2 m (6.6 ft) in length.

[4][5] The Bendegó meteorite was found in 1784 by the boy Domingos da Motta Botelho, who grazed cattle on a farm near the present town of Monte Santo, Bahia.

Judging from the four-inch layer of oxidation upon which it rested, and the lost part of its lower portion, it is estimated that it had been in place for thousands of years.

The cart it was on ran out of control down a hill and the meteorite fell into a dry stream bed, 180 meters away from the spot where it was originally found.

It is a metallic meteorite, consisting basically of iron, with the following elements: 6.6% Ni, 0.47% Co, 0.22% P, and traces of S and C in much smaller quantities, only measured in parts per million.