Originally posted by Alt-F4:

This may only be a partial solution to the problem, however, since the types of things you will want to teleport (I'm looking at ore and refined metals) don't teleport through portals. Unless I am completely misunderstanding the label they have on them. Which means portals would be useful for things like foraging or initial travel to a location, but carrying ore or the like back is a manual task. I'm also not entirely sure if they will come under attack in single player, either.

And, to add to Isaac_Clark's point, while they don't make it possible to 'port ore or refined metals back to base, what they do is provide a way for you to nip back and forth while you gather enough ore/metal to fill a boat and justify the risk of the sea journey.

First thing I do on making landfall anywhere that I want to be working from? Put up a portal in a hut.