Lubumbashi (formerly official names: Élisabethville and About this sound Elisabethstad) in the southeastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the second largest city in the country, second only to the nation's capital Kinshasa. Lubumbashi is the mining capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, acting as a hub for many of the country's biggest mining companies.The copper-mining city serves as the capital of the relatively prosperous Katanga Province, lying near the Zambian border. Population estimates vary widely but average around 1.5 million.