Mr. Cliff Davis reports

NEVSUN EXCEEDS PRODUCTION PLAN AND COST GUIDANCE IN Q1 2016

Nevsun Resources Ltd. has released its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Unless otherwise noted, with the exception of earnings per share and realized price and cost per pound figures, all financial results are in millions of U.S. dollars.

First quarter 2016 highlights:

• Continued first-quartile safety performance at Bisha;
• Produced 34 million pounds of copper at C1 cash costs (1) of $1.12 per payable pound sold;
• Sold 20,000 gold equivalent ounces from stockpiles;
• Generated earnings per share of four cents and $33-million in operating income;
• Ended period with working capital of $483-million, including $438-million of cash;
• Paid quarterly dividend of four cents per share.

                              FINANCIAL REVIEW  
                                                                    Q1 2016       Q1 2015

Revenue (millions)                                                 $   92.4      $  117.2
Operating income (millions)                                            32.9          42.6
Net income (millions)                                                  15.6          23.0
Net income attributable to Nevsun shareholders (millions)               7.5          12.6
Basic earnings per share attributable to Nevsun shareholders           0.04          0.06
Copper price realized, per payable pound sold                          2.20          2.49
C1 cash cost per payable pound sold (1)                            $   1.12      $   1.23

(1) Ore tonnes mined for the three months ended 
March 31, 2016, included no oxide ore (three 
months ended March 31, 2015: 11,000 tonnes), 
732,000 tonnes of supergene ore (three months 
ended March 31, 2015: 518,000) and 605,000 tonnes 
of primary ore (three months ended March 31, 
2015: 128,000).

"We've concluded another successful and profitable quarter," stated Cliff Davis, president and chief executive officer of Nevsun. "Nevsun earned $15.6-million during Q1 2016 ($7.5-million attributable to Nevsun shareholders) or four cents per share. We are pleased to see the impact of our cost reduction efforts in our $1.12 C1 cash cost per payable pound sold. The zinc expansion project continues to progress well with hot ore commissioning scheduled for late Q2 2016. The project will be completed on time and well under budget. We still have not committed any of our zinc offtake so as to take advantage of the expected tightening zinc concentrate supply."

                     OPERATIONS REVIEW 
                                         Q1 2016         Q1 2015

Ore mined, tonnes (1)                  1,337,000         657,000
Waste mined, tonnes                    2,028,000       3,517,000
Strip ratio (using tonnes)                   1.5             5.4
Ore milled, tonnes                       584,000         441,000
Copper feed grade, %                         3.1             4.7
Recovery, % of copper                       87.0            83.8
Copper concentrate grade, %                 23.0            24.8
Copper in concentrate produced,
millions of pounds                          34.2            38.0
Copper in concentrate produced,
tonnes                                    15,500          17,200
Payable copper in concentrate
sold, millions of pounds (1)                34.9            47.4
Payable copper in concentrate
sold, tonnes (1)                          15,900          21,500
Payable gold in concentrate
sold, ounces                               6,000           6,900
Payable silver in concentrate
sold, ounces                             226,000         369,000

(1) Ore tonnes mined for the three months ended 
March 31, 2016, included no oxide ore (three 
months ended March 31, 2015: 11,000 tonnes), 
732,000 tonnes of supergene ore (three months 
ended March 31, 2015: 518,000) and 605,000 tonnes 
of primary ore (three months ended March 31, 
2015: 128,000).

Mr. Davis continued: "We are off to a great start to 2016 with supergene production ahead of guidance and strong demand for our gold equivalent ounces from stockpiles. The precious metal stockpiles sales confirm the marketability of this material at more favourable commercial terms than originally expected. With the strong gold and silver prices, we will prioritize shipping precious metal stockpile material over zinc concentrate to maximize earnings and cash flow."

Conference call details

The company will hold a conference call on April 22, 2016, at 8 a.m. Vancouver time/11 a.m. Toronto time and New York time/4 p.m. London time, to discuss the first quarter 2016 results. Please call in at least five minutes prior to the conference call start time to ensure prompt access to the conference. Dial-in details are as follows:

North America:  1-888-390-0546/1-416-764-8688/1-778-383-7413

United Kingdom:  0800-652-2435 (toll-free)

Other international:  1-416-764-8688/1-778-383-7413

The conference call will be available for replay until May 8, 2016, by calling 1-888-390-0541/1-416-764-8677 and entering passcode 486448.

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