Pentagon in talks with Australia on rare earths plant - official

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense is in talks with Australia to host a facility that would process rare earth minerals, part of an effort to reduce reliance on China for the specialized materials used in military equipment, a senior American official said.The push comes as China threatens to curb exports to the United States of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals found in fighter jets, tanks and high-tech consumer electronics.China is the world's largest processor and producer of the..