The Discovery Creek coal occurrence is located on the east bank of Discovery Creek approximately 6 kilometres north of its confluence with the Omineca River. The bituminous grade coal bed is 76 centimetres thick and contains minor sandy layers. It is interbedded with grey and black conglomerate, arkosic sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. The stratigraphy strikes 135 degrees and dips 80 degrees to the southwest.

A palynology sample from the coal yielded an Eocene age (Geological Survey of Canada Fossil Report AS-93-01). This age suggests that the coal is part of the Cretaceous-Tertiary Uslika Formation and may be correlatable to the Sustut Group.

The coal occurrence is preserved in a fault-bounded graben structure which is part of the Discovery Creek fault zone (Fieldwork 1993). The fault zone broadly separates rocks of the Quesnel and Harper Ranch terranes and also involves slivers of Lower Jurassic sediments and Cretaceous-Tertiary sediments and volcanics. The structure links with the Manson fault zone to the south through a zone of compression.

Another 10-centimetre thick coal seam is documented 150 metres upstream. The economic potential of the occurrence is thought to be low.