Global glut threatens West African iron ore ambitions

At the height of the commodities boom last decade, West African countries became magnets for miners seeking untapped iron ore, diamonds, gold, bauxite and other minerals.     In Pepel, locals anticipated an economic surge for their civil war-ravaged country when London-listed firm African Minerals started shipping ore four years ago from its Tonkolili mine. Discovered in 2008 and lying some 200 km (124 miles) to the northeast, Tonkolili is one of the world's largest iron ore deposits. Th