Aug 2 (Reuters) - Australian iron ore explorer Red Hill Iron Ltd said on Monday it would sell its entire 40% stake in Red Hill iron ore joint venture (RHIOJV) to a unit of peer Mineral Resources Ltd for A$400 million ($293.7 million).

Red Hill said it had made the decision after it was unable to reach an agreement on further developing the project with an entity involving Aquila Resources and POSCO.

The company said it believed Mineral Resources "can provide the necessary impetus to get a mining operation underway... to ensure that a mining proposal can be funded and implemented."

Mineral Resources would pay the consideration in two instalments and Red Hill would get royalty payments for revenue generated from iron ore extracted and sold from RHIOJV, it added.

The remaining 60% stake in RHIOJV is held by API Management, which is controlled by Shanghai-based Baosteel Group Corp and American Metals & Coal International. ($1 = 1.3620 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)