History

The Institute was founded in 1957 on the basis of the Mining Department of the Institute of Metallurgy and Mining of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia and the Georgian Branch of the All-Union Research Institute of the Coal Industry of the USSR. The initiator of the creation of the Institute and its first director (1957-1973) was an outstanding scientist and public figure, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Georgia, Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia Archil Dzidziguri.

Since 1957, the institute has been named after Grigol Tsulukidze. He was an outstanding scientist  in the field of mining science and public person, the founder of the Georgian Mining Scientific School, an academician of the Georgian Academy of Sciences.

The Institute is the only specialized scientific institution in Transcaucasia, where large-scale fundamental and applied researches are carried out in the current scientific and technical direction of mining.

1973-1980 The Institute was headed by the Honoured master of sciences and engineering of the Russian Federation and Georgia, outstanding scientist and great public person, member-correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of Georgia Elizbar Mindeli. It should be noted his great contribution to the creation and equipping of institute buildings and laboratory facilities.

In 1980-1988, the Institute was headed by a well-known mining scientist and public person, member-correspondent of the Georgian Academy of Sciences Irakli Zurabishvili.

In 1988-2006, the director of the Institute was the well-known mining scientist and public person, member-correspondent of the Georgian Academy of Sciences Levan Japaridze.