There are some features in this game which allow you to reach items outside of your current tech - unreliably. For example, if you're in need of butter or a gauze, but haven't "teched" to taming and cattle rearing, you can find a four leaf clover and then try and find a wild herd. In the same regard, would it be bad for the game to have something similar for metal?
I'm not whining, just curious, because metal is pretty much currency at the moment, right?