Quintonn Rothmann

I've read a bunch of similar questions in the forums but I couldn't find a clear answer. I've been playing this amazing game for more than 24 hours in total, and I'm still only in the copper age. I think I have maybe 5 ingots of another metal. I've spent about 5 picks and prospecting picks and I am yet to find tin/bronze or anything else for that matter. I've tried to go down many of the caves, and I've found a few of those machines that need fixing but I haven't been able to find other ores. I understand the game is a bit harder than similar other games, but is it really supposed to be this hard to find other ores? I've managed to get 2 gold through panning. In fact, i had to spend an hour or 2 to pan just to get to my first copper pick as I picked up all the copper nuggets i could but it wasn't enough to make a pick. I've found areas that show very high probability of bismuth, and i've cleared big areas but still nothing. I just died again with a brand new set of copper instruments and I've only got about 50 nuggets left at my base, so if I die again, i won't be able to make pick tools again unless i find more ores soon. I have also not been able to find any temporal gear. Any tips on finding other/more ore would be appreciated.