Four coal seams, predominantly of medium volatile bituminous rank, with thicknesses greater than 1 metre (2.2 to 13.7 metres making up a total aggregate thickness of 23.0 metres) occur in the Jurassic-Cretaceous Mist Mountain Formation (Kootenay Group) (70 to 160 metres thick) interbedded with siltstones, shales and sandstones. Eight seams are present and from stratigraphically lower to upper are on average 3.6 metres, 2.2 metres, 13.7 metres, 0.8 metres, 0.5 metres, 3.5 metres, 0.3 metres and 0.4 metres thick respectively. The thinner seams appear not to be laterally continuous.

Weighted average analyses for the lower 6 seams are as follows: raw coal - 31.01 per cent ash, 1.4 Free Swelling Index and for the 1.5 float - 8.88 per cent ash, 26.74 per cent volatile matter (air dried basis), 2.5 Free Swelling Index and 52 per cent yield.

Total in-place coal resources of the 4 seams greater than 1 metre thick (calculated to a maximum depth of 460 metres) total approximately 110 million tonnes. Strippable resources for the thick seam (to a depth of 60 metres) total 10.6 million tonnes, and assuming 60 per cent recovery, the reserves are reduced to 6.2 million tonnes (Coal Assessment Reports 400, 401).

The Harvey Creek area, which is bounded to the northeast by the northwest trending Flathead normal fault and to the southwest by the northeast trending Shepp normal fault, lies within an asymmetrical graben. The coal-bearing strata dip east between 45 and 75 degrees, with the average dip approximately 55 degrees.