Tshikapa

Tshikapa, village, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Kasai River, about 30 miles (50 km) north of the Angolan border. A noted diamond mining locale (arising after the first diamond was discovered in the area in 1907), exploitation fell off in the 1970s, but gravel quarrying remained important. The village experienced economic growth in the 1980s and ’90s when diamond market regulations were loosened. The site has boat landings and an airport. Pop. (2004 est.) 366,503.