The Maitland coal occurrence was located, trenched and sampled by Dawson and Ryan in 1990 (Geological Survey of Canada Open File 2555). The showing is located on a steep hillside above a south-flowing tributary, two kilometres south of Maitland Creek, about 58 kilometres south of the village of Iskut.

The Maitland coal occurrence is hosted by the Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Skelhorne assemblage of the Bowser Lake Group. The Skelhorne is a deltaic assemblage, and includes thinly intermixed and varicoloured siltstone, sandstone, and conglomerate, with or without coal (Geological Survey of Canada Map 2035A).

At the Maitland coal occurrence, Skelhorne assemblage strata are moderately strongly folded into open anticline-syncline pairs, with near vertical axial planes that strike about 100 degrees (Cross section GGGG-HHHH, Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 577). The coal zone is a total of 1.7 metres thick and is of anthracite grade (vitrinite reflectance is 3.47 per cent RMax).