Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button · Aired Aug 26, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
Approximately 1.5 billion pounds of copper were extracted in the Lake Superior region during the archaic period.
The finding
What the evidence shows
A 1961 estimate did put ancient copper extraction from the Lake Superior region at around 750,000 tons, which works out to about 1.5 billion pounds. But later researchers concluded that estimate relied on exaggerated and inaccurate assumptions, so the real figure is likely much lower.
Read the supporting source · en.wikipedia.org ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that Approximately 1.5 billion pounds of copper were extracted in the Lake Superior region during the archaic period?
Partly. The claim stretches what the evidence shows. 5 billion pounds. But later researchers concluded that estimate relied on exaggerated and inaccurate assumptions, so the real figure is likely much lower. It was said on Joe Rogan Experience #2546 - Michael Button, aired Aug 26, 2026, at 43:34. We haven't independently confirmed who said it. The supporting source is en.wikipedia.org, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
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