By Rick Ness

When presented with the opportunity to write something about our friend and colleague   Beni Wahju, the challenge was not what to say but ”where to start”.  Beni was legendary in his own time.

First and foremost, Beni was known as a true gentleman, a man of principle in all respects and when it came to geology or mining in Indonesia, his name was synonymous with the industry.  He was the type of professional younger geologists aspired to be like and he mentored may fine people along the way.

In addition to his esteemed career with PT INCO, Beni was instrumental in promoting the Indonesian mining industry and he dedicated a large portion of his time in assisting both the regulators and investors to responsibly develop Indonesia’s mineral potential. He was a promoter of good mining practices, sound environmental management and active community engagement to help insure all parties’ benefit from the natural resource development.

While Beni’s accomplishments were numerous, he was extremely humble and approachable.  He was as comfortable talking to a group of young geologists as he was talking to a senior government official or a chairman of the board.  Maybe it was his caring, his ability to listen, his ability to appreciate, as well as communicate at various levels that made him the special person he was to so many.