Would you guys say it is worth it xp wise to actually mine/gather the ores and mats to get HQ materials to level the craft that much faster?
mining is painfully boring.
That being said, I wouldn't say "mine hq mats to help level the craft faster". You should be using all the ores to level and attempting to HQ the stuff instead of relying on HQ ores. With the best gear for the level, you'll only pick up 15% HQ ores unless you're well over the node's level. This is from experience for up to lvl 22 mining, so it's not much, but I didn't rely on HQ mats for leveling up... more from making tons of ingots to use later.