Settlement Ore/Smelter issue?

So I've been having to deal with an issue where my Amber Ore keeps getting smelted before I can generate enough to upgrade my shipyard... it's been this way all league

I currently have NO MONEY in the town
I have No active Smelters working on ANYTHING, and they are NOT being paid... I've shut down my whole town in hopes of trying to solve this issue... and still nothing

You have a double issue.

If you have no money in the town, then your miners cannot mine the ore you are marking.

If you have smelters assigned to anything, then as long as there is gold, they will start smelting. If they run out of their assigned ore, they move onto other ores.

If you are trying to save ores, remove all smelters from positions. Everyone else can continue to work but as long as no smelters are assigned, they can never be converted. Then you can keep money stocked in the town safely.