Losses of mercury that attributed to the contamination of the Carson River, and eventually to the CRMS, occurred during these processes. Mercury loss in the mining operations ranged from transportation failures, crude equipment, and poor handling. The mercury was transferred about using leather bags, pails, and barrels that leaked and spilled. Equipment was not up to standards and not practical for containing tailings. However, most of the mercury loss happened throughout the amalgam process. Recovery amount of the vaporized mercury is completely dependant on the technology used and the efficiency of mercury binding depends on the ability of the precious metal. Both of the actions were not completely refined themselves, and attributed to as much as 0.7–1 kg of mercury waste/ per tonne of ore processed in Nevada mines.