For more than 30 years, Robert M. Friedland has been recognized by the mining industry as an entrepreneurial explorer, technology innovator, thought leader and company builder. He is most notably known for the discovery and development of several of the world’s largest mineral deposits, such as the Voisey’s Bay nickel discovery in Canada and Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold discovery in Mongolia, Platreef in South Africa and Kamoa-Kakula in the DRC. Under his leadership, the Ivanhoe group and associated companies have raised more than US$25 billion on world capital markets since 1993. This capital has been invested in more than 30 nations, directed primarily at mineral resources and disruptive technologies.

Today, Robert is Executive Co-Chairman of Ivanhoe Mines, which is expanding the high-grade Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, restarting the ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine also in the DRC, and building the tier-one Platreef palladium-platinum-nickel- copper- gold discovery in South Africa. He is Chairman and co-founder of I-Pulse inc., a private company that is commercializing proprietary, pulsed-power technologies aiming to achieve disruptive outcomes across numerous industries. Mr Friedland is also Executive Chairman of U.S.-based Ivanhoe Electric, which is using proprietary technology to explore for mineral deposits principally across the USA to support American supply chain independence.

Mr. Friedland’s enterprise and leadership gained prominent, industry recognition in January 2016 when he was inducted into the prestigious Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

In December 2021, Mr. Friedland was inducted into the American Mining Hall of Fame in recognition of his outstanding lifetime achievements advancing the American and global mineral resources industry.  On October 9, 2023, the Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh presented Mr. Friedland with the Order of the Polar Star, the country’s highest civilian award to a foreign citizen, for his leadership role in the discovery and development of Oyu Tolgoi, one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the world.