Some thoughtsAccording to this article from Northern Graphite
https://northerngraphite.com/ under About Graphite -The graphite supply problem on their home page.
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"China produces 70 to 80% of the world’s graphite supply. Approximately 70% of Chinese production is fine or amorphous graphite while 30% is flake. China does produce some large flake graphite but the majority of its flake graphite production is very small in the +200 mesh range".
From this, one might conclude that much of China's reported air dust and water pollution problem in her graphite region's is caused by the mining and processing of fine flake and amorphous graphite ores.
Some years ago, I read that Syrah Resource's high percentage ore's consisted of large amounts of lower grade ores consisting of fine graphite in the less than +100 mesh range.
Page 19 of 38 of Syrah's Annual General Meeting Presentation of 13 November 2015 https://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20151113/pdf/432yqsh8chj386.pdf
shows that 32% of Syrah's ore consist of (8.5% Jumbo,12% Large and 11.5% Medium Flake) while the final 68% of their ore is in the small flake to amorphous range.
Could China be buying mostly lower grade graphite concentrates from Syrah to partially mitigate their problem of air and dust pollution caused by the mining and concentrating fine flake and amorphous graphite ore's in China.