whilst i do agree with a lot of what you've said/your sentiment,...

whilst i do agree with a lot of what you've said/your sentiment, i'll offer some rebuttal's for the sake of discussion.
- natural graphite is still preferred over artificial, in most use cases (including batteries), especially for western countries production lines
- the whole point is that the US wants to fund new projects to diversify off the Chinese production.
- the demand curve for graphite still is hitting it's exponential arc over the coming years, and not going anywhere anytime soon. in fact, the timing would be quite good for a project starting now, to be able to supply the market as it needs it in 5-10 years. graphite also has uses beyond just batteries (although this is where most of the growth is). companies like Syrah were a bit early and have been stung by Chinese overproduction/dumping. the US wants to move off Chinese materials where it can so will continue funding these projects - including on graphite.
- as for investors having patience, well what's the point of investing in any exploration company on the asx?
- to say that Sarytogan have 50 years of global supply is just wrong. they have a mine that can operate for 50 years of production but their annual production is nowhere near a year of global demand
- as for the other projects that are failing/competing, its about scale and grade, as well as getting the right funding avenues. the team here hinted that they might be able to connect with US Govt funding sources, which changes that whole dynamic.