Following the discovery, a mining camp designed to house miners and company officials of the Societé minière de Bakwanga (MIBA) was developed in the area. Diamonds were first discovered in the area as early as 1907, but the true value of the find was not recognised until 1913. The region where the city of Mbuji-Mayi now stands was once a cluster of villages on land owned by the Bakwanga clan. This division into communes has been in effect since Ministerial (Departmental) Order No. Mbuji-Mayi is made up of five communes (municipalities), each headed by a burgomaster: Bipemba, Dibindi, Diulu, Kanshi and Muya. Air travel is provided through the Mbuji Mayi Airport. However, Mbuji-Mayi is the traditional centre of industrial diamond mining in Congo, with it being located on top of one of the largest known deposits in the world. Despite its large population, the city remains remote, having little connection to surrounding provinces or to Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. The name Mbuji-Mayi comes from the local language, Tshiluba, and translates as "Goat-Water," a name deriving from the great number of goats in the region. Mbuji-Mayi lies in Luba country on the Mbuji-Mayi River. Estimates ranged from a 2010 CIA World Factbook estimated population of 1,480,000 to as many as 3,500,000 estimated by the United Nations in 2008. It is the second largest city in the country, following the capital Kinshasa but ahead of Lubumbashi, Kisangani and Kananga, though the exact population is not known. Mbuji-Mayi or Mbujimayi (formerly Bakwanga) is a city and the capital of Kasai-Oriental Province in the south-central Democratic Republic of Congo.
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