[3] Fragments of the meteorite were found in 1913 by gold diggers in Tuva near the Chinge River after which it is named.

Eventually, Nikolay Chernevich, a mining engineer supervising the gold diggers, sent thirty pieces, the heaviest of which was 20.5 kilograms (45 lb), to the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.

[3] Later expeditions have retrieved about 250[citation needed] pieces with a total mass of 209.4 kilograms (462 lb).

[3] Studies from the fluvial deposits in which the meteorites was found estimate that it fell about 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

[5] Researchers say the 1,000-year-old object with a swastika on its stomach is made from a rare form of iron with a high content of nickel.