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Brazilian mining exploration company GME4 will start a global road show in the next few days to sell a majority stake in an 800 million metric ton iron ore mine in northeast Brazil, the Estado newspaper reported Thursday.

"Our aim is to sell around 80% of the mine," said one of GME4's partners, Joao Carlos Cavalcanti. The other partner is Brazil's Banco Opportunity.

The iron ore deposits, valued at $2.4 billion and located in the south of Piaui State, will be presented to potential buyers in Shanghai, London and New York.

Cavalcanti estimated production costs at $21 to $23 per ton and annual output at 20 million tons a year of pellet feed.

Credit Suisse is advising GME4 on the sale.

GME4 already has had one successful iron ore deposit sale to date. Three years ago, it sold Indian investor Pramod Agarwal a mine in neighboring Bahia State for $360 million. Agarwal is believed to be a representative of steel mogul Lakshimi Mittal.

Piaui and Bahia States aren't traditional iron ore mining regions. The Piaui deposits are within 20 kilometers of the route of the Transnordestina railroad, which is expected to be operational in 2011. The railroad will connect two relatively new deepwater ports: Suape near Recife, and Pecem, near Fortaleza.

Cavalcanti said he has already signed an energy supply contract for the mine from the Sobradinha dam, the largest in northeast Brazil.

According to Brazil's Mineral Production Department, other mining companies have also applied to prospect in Piaui, including Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (RIO), BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), MMX Mineracao e Metalicos SA (MMXM3M.BR) and Bahia Mineracao.

-By John Kolodziejski, Dow Jones Newswires; 55-21-2586-6086; john.kolodiejski@dowjones.com