Nomadic societies have cropped up throughout history, and many seemed to have wielded metal weapons. Where did they get these weapons? I could see maybe a simple forge or even a smelter being somehow packed up and moved, but not a whole mine.
Did they have permanent settlements around ore deposits? Did they trade for their weapons, or force conquered people to give them weapons as a form of homage? Or even more likely, am I completely misunderstanding nomadic societies on a fundamental level?
While there will always more to be said on the topic, I recently posted a brief summary of the situations of the Mongols (the portable smithing tools with the wide supply network of ores across the steppes and their neighboring regions) in: How did nomadic peoples on the Eurasian steppe, such as Mongols or Cumans, acquire metal for creating weapons? Did they have their own mines, or did they trade for materials?.