The current state of the mineral resource base of Russia, the issues of achieving import independence in providing Russian industry with strategic metals are considered. The problems of prospecting and exploration of ores of such metals, their enrichment and extraction are discussed. Solutions to some of the identified problems proposed by the Russian Academy of Sciences are presented. Considerable attention is paid to the mining and extraction of lithium and rare earth elements.The article is based on a report at the scientific session of the General Meeting of Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences on December 12, 2023, using materials from a joint meeting of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Materials and Nanomaterials, the Interdepartmental Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the development of the mineral resource base and its rational use, the bureau of the Department of Chemistry and Material Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Bureau of the Department of Geosciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences and with the participation of representatives of the State Corporation “Rosatom”, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia and the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia.