The Contact Lake uranium occurrence lies about 2 kilometres west-northwest of Oliver, British Columbia and 1.5 kilometres south of the former Standard mine (082ESW091).

Regionally, the area is principally underlain by medium grained intrusive rocks that form the Jurassic Oliver plutonic complex. To the south, the complex cuts Carboniferous to Permian Kobau Group metasedimentary rocks. On its northern margin, the intrusive mass is in contact with Eocene volcanics and sediments of Penticton Group. The Kettle River Formation, consisting of conglomerate, arkose and rhyolite tuff, is overlain by the Springbrook and Marron formations.

Bedrock types surrounding Contact Lake include laminated quartz schist or dirty quartzite, massive and laminated quartzite and minor limestone of the Kobau Group. In the Contact Lake area, the Oliver plutonic complex is composed almost entirely of biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite. The southern contact is approximately 200 metres to the north of Contact lake. Three distinct phases have been identified. From youngest to oldest these are: a central core of massive medium-grained garnet-muscovite quartz monzonite which is surrounded by porphyritic biotite quartz monzonite to the south and biotite-hornblende quartz monzonite north of the core. Hornblende diorite occurs in several small areas to the north. Border phases and dikes related to the Oliver plutonic complex include lamprophyre, augite-plagioclase porphyritic andesite, micro-quartz diorite, albite porphyritic dacite, diabase, fine-grained quartz monzonite and aplite.

Several irregular masses of fine-grained quartz monzonite occur in the metasediments along a northwest trend for about 1.5 kilometres. Thin sections of the rock show many minute subhedral inclusions of zircon (thorite) in biotite, which form pleochroic haloes due to radioactive emanations. Scintillometer readings are up to 750 counts per second and sampling yielded up to 0.05 per cent thorium and 0.01 per cent uranium (Assessment Report 6949). Some aplite dikes are rich in thorium and high in uranium.

Irregular zones of radioactivity occur in the limestone near the contact. Scintillometer readings on a SPP2 NF are up to 700 counts per second (background 70 counts per second) and a sample analysed 0.01 per cent uranium (Assessment Report 6949).

The Contact Lake occurrence, covering about 3800 square metres of uranium enrichment, has been classified as a lacustrine/playa-type young uranium occurrence (IAEA TECDOC 332, Table 1). The depositional environment of uranium is a cyclically closed basin, controlled by topography and evaporation. The occurrence is characterized by alkaline conditions, interlayered clays and organics and occasional hydrogen sulphide gas (IAEA TECDOC 332, Table 1).

One augerhole into a 6.5-metre thick surficial layer averaged 0.0304 per cent uranium, with a 0.5-metre thickness averaging 0.0552 per cent uranium (Culbert, R.R., 1979).