Now about one and a half years in.
I've found ores for lead, silver, and gold - suitable for general crafts, ammunition and weapons, but not armor.
My first try at dwarven trading failed, as near as I can figure, when a wagon died on a trap. It left me with assorted junk, and one bar of rose gold, one bar of platinum.
The platinum was used in a posession to make an artifact gauntlet... who's value I can't even guess at - the dwarven traders fled leaving a dead wagon, and the only other traders to visit (Elves) never showed my broker the value of anything, so I'm left waiting for the next merchants before I appraise the gauntlet.
I setup initially between an elvin town and a tower, hoping to face undead early on. I've beat off two attacks - a were critter and a goblin(?!) 'siege'... which is still technically sieging us but the only two goblins left are on the edge of the map.
I was intending to run the fort without cage traps, defending it with the might of my military, about all I can muster in any quantity is cloth 'armor'. Absent any meaningful trade or new discoveries below ground, I don't see me getting much in the way of quality armor for some time. I suppose I should start leaning on weapon traps, but those tend to leave parts flying everywhere, and I did start a stones throw from a tower...