Robert Martin Friedland, born on August 18, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois, is an American–Canadian billionaire financier and one of the most influential figures in modern mining .
He grew up as the eldest of three children, attending Bowdoin College before transferring to Reed College in Oregon, from which he graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor’s degree in political science . While at Reed, he also served as student body president, and his early life included eclectic experiences, like operating a communal apple farm that famously inspired a young Steve Jobs .Friedland’s career in mining and resource entrepreneurship has been prolific.
In 1993, he launched what eventually became Ivanhoe Mines, initially known as African Minerals, following a series of bold projects including the Voisey’s Bay nickel discovery and Mongolia’s monumental Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold operation . Simultaneously, he founded multiple affiliates and related ventures under Ivanhoe Capital, establishing his reputation for transforming small extraction efforts into major mining enterprises through capital markets funding . In 2015, Friedland founded High Power Exploration—commonly known as HPX—as a subsidiary of his technology and energy innovation juggernaut, I‑Pulse . HPX’s goal was to develop ultra‑high‑grade iron‑ore projects in West Africa, notably the Nimba deposit on the Guinea‑Liberia border.
In June 2025, HPX rebranded as Ivanhoe Atlantic, aligning the iron‑ore venture more visibly with Friedland’s flagship Ivanhoe brand and capitalizing on global investor recognition . The renaming signals a strategic shift from a niche exploration outfit to a major critical‑minerals player—attracting broader institutional interest, especially with plans to potentially list on the ASX and target critical‑minerals investors .
Under the Ivanhoe Atlantic name, the company continues its push to secure and commercialize the Nimba iron‑ore resource, magnifying its position in the global push for high‑grade iron ore needed for sustainable “green steel.”
