BANGALORE (Reuters) - Rare-earth oxide producer Molycorp Inc said it expects its initial public offering of 28.1 million shares to be priced between $15 and $17 a share.

The company expects net proceeds from the offering of about $420.7 million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $16 per share.

Molycorp, which produces rare-earth elements used in clean energy technologies, defense applications and fiber optics, is developing one of the biggest rare-earth deposits in the world at its mine in California's Mojave Desert.

The company said in a regulatory filing it intends to use the proceeds to fund the modernization and expansion of its Mountain Pass facility and other general corporate purposes.

The underwriters, including Morgan Stanley & Co and J.P. Morgan Securities, will have an over-allotment option of about 4.2 million shares.

The Greenwood Village, Colorado-based company said its shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MCP."

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)