The stats he has on the high score list were achieved after the wipe. Pre-wipe he had 99 cooking(I'm certain of, and believe his crafting was high for a long time as well), maybe some others.
Ooo, I've got a better one.. I know I'm old school because I mapped the wilderness when it first came out. :P Go ahead, google me. I'm on sites with languages I can't even identify. XD
Steel is the best exp/money for the time spent mining. Higher level metals take too much coal and Iron is a bit to unreliable smelting. Its not unwise to take up magic for high alchemy to get decent return on Steel Chest Plates. It won't cover supplies if you buy but its the closest thing to doing so.
I'm pretty sure when dragon mediums appeared they were also obtainable from fire giant. Thats how I obtained the one I had, but i suppose it could have been added to their list a day or two later as well. My memory isn't that good.