The Crystal Lake (Sure Bet) occurrence is located between Crystal and McGregor lakes, approximately 5.5 kilometres south east of Kootenay Bay.

The area is underlain by schist, dolomite, limestone, marble and calcareous sedimentary rocks of the Cambrian to Devonian Index Formation (Lardeau Group) and Lower Cambrian Badshot Formation. Quartzite and quartz arenite sedimentary rocks of the Upper Proterozoic to Lower Cambrian Hamill Group outcrop to the south and east. These have been intruded by a Cretaceous granite to the north west.

Locally, brecciated and silicified marbles of the Lower Cambrian Badshot Formation hosts galena, sphalerite, tetrahedrite and barite mineralization. Large float boulders, up to 30 tonnes in size and mineralized with sphalerite, pyrrhotite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite and ferbergite, have also been identified in the area.

In 1977, diamond drilling intercepted intervals of a siltite, gneiss and marble hosting disseminated pyrite and pyrrhotite with traces of chalcopyrite and sphalerite. No assays of the core are reported.

In 1991, a sample (CB1) of pyrite rich siltstone and argillite from the Sure Bet 1 claim assayed 3.7 grams per tonne silver and 0.119 per cent zinc, while a sample (32006) of marble hosting pyrite, sphalerite and galena, from Sure Bet 3 claim, yielded 2.528 per cent zinc, and 3.4 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 21793). Float samples yielded up to 0.616 per cent copper, greater than 1 per cent lead, 2 per cent zinc and 50 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 21793).

In 1992, float boulders yielded values from 10 to 32 per cent combined lead-zinc, 0.2 to 4.78 per cent copper and trace to 342 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22219). Select hand samples from trenches yielded up to 2.80 per cent lead, 5.65 per cent zinc and 347.5 grams per tonne silver (Assessment Report 22578). Diamond drilling, performed the same year, yielded up to 8 grams per tonne silver, 0.70 per cent lead, 0.13 per cent zinc and 0.017 per cent copper over 1.3 metres from DDH A92-6, while DDH A92-8 intercepted 1.1 metres yielding 33 grams per tonne silver, 0.50 per cent lead, 0.06 per cent zinc and 0.023 per cent copper (Assessment Report 22578).

In 2010, a rock sample (R10-SB-14) taken from a small pit assayed 179.5 grams per tonne silver, 0.284 per cent copper and greater than 1.0 per cent zinc and lead, respectively (Assessment Report 31600).

In 1928, D. Broster, M. Johnson and associates staked the area and conducted tunnelling and trenching on two showings. During 1973 through 1979, Cominco Ltd. completed programs of soil sampling, ground geophysical surveys and four diamond drill holes, totalling 306.0 metres, on the area as the Craw claims. In 1990 and 1991, Bruce Doyle prospected and sampled on the Sure Bet and Pup claims. In 1991, Kokanee Explorations completed a program soil sampling and ground geophysical surveys on the area as the Arc property. The following year, eight diamond drill holes, totalling 1194.8 metres, were completed.

Cream Minerals Ltd. acquired the property in 1999. Previous exploration on the property has discovered two large airborne electromagnetic geophysical anomalies situated within a 1.3-kilometre long silver-lead-zinc anomaly. Within this geochemical anomaly, massive sulphide boulders, some weighing up to 30 tonnes and containing more than 343 grams per ton silver have been found.

In 2001, Klondike Gold completed three diamond drill holes, totalling 303.3 metres, and an 8.4 line-kilometre ground electromagnetic survey on the area. In 2010, a program of rock sampling was completed on the area. In 2012, Noram Ventures completed a program of geological mapping, rock sampling and seven diamond drill holes, totalling 1375.6 metres, on the area. This work was centered on graphite exploration.