May 20 (Reuters) - Rare earth minerals miner Lynas Corp LYC.AX on Monday said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Blue Line Corp (NYSE:LN) to set up a rare earths separation facility in the United States.
Lynas and Blue Line will cooperate over the next year to develop the facility in Texas. The venture will be majority owned by Lynas, the companies said in a joint statement.
Lynas' foray into the United States may be driven by regulatory issues with its facility in Malaysia. The company, which is subject to a $1.1 billion takeover offer from Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd WES.AX , had in April said it was considering building new processing facilities.