The Laurel occurrence is located in a small creek valley south of Powder Creek and approximately 10 kilometres east of Kootenay Lake.

The area is underlain by granodiorite and quartz monzonite of the Cretaceous Fry Creek Batholith in contact with metasediments of the Lower Cambrian Hamill Group.

Locally, molybdenite is found as rosettes and disseminations in granodioritic phases of the intrusion.

In 1974 and 1975, Cominco completed programs of silt and soil sampling, geological mapping and an induced polarization survey on the area to the south west as the Copa and OPZN claims. This exploration centred around float mineralization consisting of chalcopyrite and malachite in quartzites and identified at least two copper-zinc anomalies along the ridge.

In 1980, Kennco Explorations completed a program of rock, silt and soil sampling and geological mapping on the area immediately north as the PCW claims. The following year, the area was prospected as the Laurel 1 claim.