Idea to make resource use and development more about hard work as opposed to "luck", Alt spamming, or carpal tunnel syndrome.
Ore: Ore really doesn't need any work if the current system is as I understand it regarding lower levels for higher ore...all top level ore = 10 so no problem.
Soil : All soil is quality 10. To increase soil quality one must make fertilizer. The "Compost box" would be made of appropriate ingredients, wood, rope perhaps. Quality of box would be determined by supplies used to make it. It works like the wardrobe or cubbard perhaps. You have a spot for Water, Soil and Foodstuffs (Bread for instance). Timer ticks down and said ingredients turn into said slots of fertilizer. Quality would be determined (example) by the Q of soil, water, food and Box = average. You would then "plant" the fertilizer on the tile which would equal tile's new q of average of old tile + fertilizer. Rinse and repeat.
Water : All water is 10. To increase water Q you would need to construct "Water Filter". Water filter would work like a wine press and be made of at least blocks, planks and Linen ect. Q of filter is determined by ingredients of course. To use you would input buckets of water to fill up water bar. Then "press" to fill up filtered water bar and remove with bucket and place into barrel. Q of new water is determined by water Q and filter Q. Rinse repeat (Also if this is too easy you can - .1 liter which means for every 10l of water you input you'll only get 9 l out..or leave it equal)
Clay : All types of clay revert to q 10 and renamed "raw" ball clay for instance. To increase quality of clay you must make refined or usable clay from raw clay by building "Clay Molder" for example. You insert raw clay + straw + water to make usable clay for building or making bricks. Q of course is determined by ingredients. I realize this is actually the rl recipe for bricks but so be it, as it does at least make the resource now dependent on work.
Stone : Humm, toughest one...perhaps a furnace of some kind, use to temper the stone. Regular stone can be placed in furnace with other ingredients, perhaps sand or glass or even metal to strengthen it or temper it for higher quality...q of course would be dependent on all factors we know goes into Q. This is of course slightly accomplished already when smelting. so it could be left at that as only way to increase stone quality or a new comparable system such as the "stone furnace" be introduced for intentional increasing of stone quality.
Tweak as required but I do think such a system would really add alot of hands-on work and more variety . It likewise reduces , if not, eliminates the need for alt spamming and wrist crunching searches, bullying and super hoarding of spots. Some could say it would impact slightly the use of cartography however, I don't think so as the reason for cartography is because if I didn't know where Constantinople was I' d never be able to find it....NOT to mark a resource spot.