Enlarge / Construction takes place at the site of Lynas Corp.'s Advanced Materials Plant in the Gebeng Industrial Zone near Kuantan, Malaysia, on Thursday, April 19, 2012. (credit: Goh Seng Chong/Bloomberg via Getty Images) This week, two rare-earth mineral-processing companies announced a new joint-venture whose aim will be to establish a rare-earth ore processing plant in Hondo, Texas. Lynas Corp., an Australian rare-earths processor, and Blue Line Corp., a chemical company which is already based in Texas, agreed to a partnership to "see that US companies have continued access to rare-earth products by offering a US-based source." Rare-earths minerals are found in consumer electronics, military equipment, electric vehicles, and wind turbines and solar panels.