Redcastle Resources (ASX:RC1) said assay results of the final phase of drilling confirmed higher-grade shallow mineralization at the Kestral Lode at its Queen Alexandra prospect within the Redcastle gold project in Western Australia, according to a Monday Australian bourse filing.

This increases the potential for a larger early-stage open pit development at the prospect by expanding the mineralized footprint, improving open pit design flexibility, enabling the focus to be on early high-grade extraction, and supporting more robust project economics.

It reported significant intercepts from the prospect of two meters at 7.80 grams-per-tonne grade of gold from 66 meters and six meters at 2.7 g/t grade of gold from 36 meters.

It also reported a significant intercept of 16 meters at 1.2 g/t grade of gold from 84 meters, from four contiguous individual four-meter composites from its Redcastle Reef prospect.

Its shares fell 12% in recent trading on Monday.