please help, "newbie"

[dayel]

really im not a newbie, ive been playing the civilization games for about a decade i think, but im new to civ3, i want to know if saltpeter and other strategic resources disappear (well not disappear, but that they wont appear on the tile) if before discovering gunpowder i mine and build roads on all my desert tiles. in all my games, i have no saltpeter on my territory and have a lot of desert and hills. it sucks. also, i want to know if i destroy a forest before discovering rubber, will rubber still appear on the grassland where the forest once stood? or do i have to keep my forests until i discover rubber? please help

 

[Hades]

The resources were set into the game before anyone discovers them. It makes no difference what you do with the terrain it will appear once you have the tech.