At present, the priorities of the Institute are: rational use of natural resources, obtaining & processing of new inorganic materials, and the development of environmentally sound technologies, utilizing & recycling of industrial wastes.

In 1991, in the former Soviet Union the major political and economic changes took place. Georgia declared independence. Immediately, the existing economic ties were broken off. The science was in a state of stagnation. Many skilled workers left academia. In such circumstances, the Institute still managed operation through obtaining of foreign research grants.

Institute of Metallurgy was the only research institution of this profile in the Caucasus.That`s why it comprised so many different directions. In 1990, 42 laboratories were functioning in the Institute. Among them were Batumi corrosion laboratory with the test station, working areas in Rustavi metallurgy and Zestafoni ferroalloys plants. The Institute staff number was nearly 800. Their activities comprised metallurgy and materials science main tendencies existing worldwide. Accordingly, multifarious were scientific themes.

In 1953 Metallurgy department was opened in the Tbilisi branch of Institute of chemistry of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This was the first research center in this direction. Two years later the department was changed into an independent unit - metallurgy laboratory and a famous scientistmetallurgist Academician A.A.Baikov was invited to head it.

The Georgian metallurgy was recovered by the Chiatura-Zestafoni mining complex. This complex is the greatest achievement of the Georgian metallurgical potential which is connected with a name of the great patriot George Nikoladze (1888-1931) who was the first to solve at sunrise of electrometallurgy, a problem of receiving manganese from the Chiatura ores.

Metallurgy - a science about mining of metals and alloys from ores and manufacturing from them subjects of different function - is one of the most ancient and major achievements of a civilization. Origination of metallurgy at initial stage of the mankind development gave rise to the notable socialeconomic progress, facilitating differentiation of the society (Jean-Jacques Rousseau).