One specimen has a petrographic composition typical of a cannel shale, in which sporinite is the most abundant organic constituent; the other is characterized by Botryococcus-alginite bodies typical of a boghead coal.
Previous examinations of coal artifacts from the Bache Peninsula region of eastern Ellesmere Island, including the analysis of beads and a possible labret, showed that the artifacts consisted of a variety of coal and organic-rich shale types (lignite, boghead coal, cannel shale), some of which could be traced to nearby outcrop exposures (Kalkreuth et al., 1993a).
Petrographic analysis showed that the composition is that of a cannel shale, in which the maceral sporinite is the predominant organic constituent.