Ok... for the smelters...
after you start the game and get your initial smelter operation going (as in, build it, build the mine, set 3 or so trucks on an ore route), do these, try to do them as fast as you can (simutaneously if possible)
build your robo miners (however many you want for beacons) (preferably before researching rare ore or that other hit points crap, because they cost less before those researches). While you are doing this be going around with the robo surveyor and trying to find 3bar Common (these give out the highest ore per trip) and also research metallogeny if you haven't already (increases common ore yields for more ore/trip)
You can also be making a smelter for each mine in the factories. load these into convecs as soon as the factory is done (just hit the space bar when it says the kit's done to go there fast). Make 3 or so trucks for each mine.
once you find good places to make mines get your miners there right away and make the mines.
Then to speed it up even more make tubes down by the mines and build the smelters hooked up to those. You could also get dozers there and bulldoze between the smelter and mine to make the trucks go faster on the land.
now, set the ore routes.... (make sure you don't put too many trucks on one route to keep it from getting stopped up)
then, you should have like 3 smelters and 3 mines operating.
to make it go even faster, research the advanced power plant research and the other stuff that makes the cargo trucks go faster.
does that help?
