Why is it so valuable at all to melt gold?
I see people selling gold ore for 400 tria per piece, while NPCs buy gold for 240 - and those buying it for 400 seem to do that happily. Even at such a price, they seem to get Richie rich ... or what? What is the point of such an excessive metallurgy? What do people need such amounts of money for?
While I spend a fair bit of time mining and refining gold, I doubt that many would consider me rich. I'm not wealthy...but my trainers must be so! Let's see, I'm a devotee of Crystal Way, that cost me 20k to train last week. So, excellent question, sir...why do these NPCs need such excessive amounts of money? I'm willing to do tasks for my teachers, as any apprentice should.
And someone earlier in the thread asked why players would need more than 1 furnace slot. I use more slots (when fewer people at the furnace) because I once experienced the unbridled joy of seeing 10 gold ores turn to slag in an instant. Now I melt 3 or 4 at a time. Lesson learned! And I also agree; there's no desperate hurry here; if the furnace is busy, no one should be using more than a few slots. Take time, bask in the heat of the furnace.