Friedland was CEO of the original Ivanhoe Mines (now named Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ: TSX & NYSE)), which he founded as Indochina Goldfields in 1994 and led to a successful initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1996. He was chairman, and later executive chairman, until 2011. Exploration by Ivanhoe Mines since 2000 discovered a chain of copper, gold and silver deposits at Oyu Tolgoi (Turquoise Hill) in Mongolia's South Gobi region. The first phase of what is independently projected to be one of the world's largest porphyry copper and gold mines (Oyu Tolgoi) began commercial production in 2013. The original Ivanhoe Mines was renamed Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ: TSX & NYSE) in 2012. Turquoise Hill Resources is focused on the operation and further development of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine.