A. Ian M. Ritchie B.Sc, Ph.D, is a retired Chief Research Scientist from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). At retirement he was Manager of Environmental Physics within the Environment Division of ANSTO and Project Leader of the Managing Mine Wastes Project (MMWP). In recent years, his main area of interest has been in understanding the microbial, chemical and physical mechanisms which determine the rate of oxidation of sulfides in large dumps of sulfidic material and devising ways to control the leaching of acid and salts which is a consequence of this oxidation.
