well refining tables allowed to the population isnt going to do that. Just dont have gold vendors and walls. No one wants free farming, you can put the tables outside.
If the game is not going to be a actual sandbox they need to stop getting peoples hopes up to just string us along and crush our hopes by repeasting the "full sandbox experience"
Theres a handfull of reasons someone would transport metals if player buildings had refining capacity specially when theres no sieging.
But when they don't have refining in buildings players have to transport shit to a town by either way to final processing.
That being the only way to get metals means players will eventually have to transport shit populating the world doing their tasks. Its the price for accessing wilderness off town resources and potentially isolated farming places, and specially in tephra areas for obvious reasons.
Putting a processing stage of metals in the streets seems like an interesting way to favor organic flow of players instead of metal stockpiling factores. Not saying it wouldnt have beneficial aspects aswell but i rather see people travelling than having convenient farming.
I don't see how a middle ground shouldn't be a possibility. I think it could be interesting something like small abandoned mining camps with refining an option for players in more or less isolated parts of myrland yet still NPC free to promote conflict.
And to be honest, i'd remove refining ovens from keeps until sieging is out and then i consider all buildings should have refining capacity.
Multi account + naked miners + pickeaxe + house chest + refining = 0 risk