C O R P O R A T E P R E S E N T A T I O N | MARCH 2 0 1 7

Copper and Zinc Production,Disciplined Growth.

TSX & NYSE MKTNSU

A Leading Diversified Mid-tier Base Metals Company

Forward looking statementsThis Presentation contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation

concerning anticipated developments on the Company's continuing and future operations in

Eritrea, the adequacy of the Company’s financial resources and financial projections. Forward-

looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning or the assumptions

related to estimates of capital and operating costs, the timing, nature and extent of future

copper, zinc and gold production, expanding exploration licenses, the estimation of mineral

reserves and resources, methodologies and models used to prepare resource and reserve

estimates, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the conversion of mineral properties to

reserves and resources, the potential to expand resources, reserves and mine life, future

exploration budgets, plans, targets and work programs, capital expenditures and objectives,

anticipated timing of grant of permits, mining and development plans and activities,

construction and production targets and timetables, grades, processing rates, life of mine, net

cash flows, metal prices, exchange rates, reclamation costs, results of drill programs, dividend

plans and policy, litigation matters, integration or expansion of operations, requirements for

additional capital, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, political

risks and uncertainties, unanticipated reclamation expenses, and other events or conditions that

may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified

by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimated," "potential," "possible",

"budget" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will," "may,"

"could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Information concerning the interpretation of drill results

and mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates also may be deemed to be forward-

looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be

found to be present if and when a project is actually developed, and in the case of mineral

reserves, such statements reflect the conclusion based on certain assumptions that the mineral

deposit can be economically exploited.

Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and

actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially

from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties

and other factors. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that

could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking

statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or

intended. The Company’s forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations

and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes

no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by

law. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual

results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. For

the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking

statements.

Please see the Company’s Management Information Circular dated May 18, 2016, the

Company’s Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2016 dated February 23,

2016 and the latest Management Discussion and Analysis of Nevsun for a more complete

discussion of the risk factors associated with our business which have been filed with Canadian

securities regulators and are available at www.sedar.com, which have also been filed or

submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 40-F or Form 6-K and are

available at www.sec.gov .

Except as otherwise noted herein, Peter Manojlovic, Vice President of Exploration and Frazer

Bourchier Chief Operating Officer are Qualified Persons as defined by National Instrument 43-

101 and have approved the scientific and technical information concerning Nevsun Resources

Ltd. discussed herein.

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Copper & Zinc Production, Disciplined Growth.

Bisha copper-zinc mine cashflow

Positive cash flow from 8+ year open pit mine life

High quality production growth in Timok

Upper Zone high-grade copper-gold project

Historic mining region with excellent infrastructure

Exploration growth in two mining camps

Strong balance sheet to fund growth

~US$200 million cash & no debt

Management track record of success

US$0.04 annualized dividend paid quarterly

Dividend reinvestment option (DRIP)

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A leading diversified mid-tier base metals company

DRIP = dividend reinvestment program (investors can opt for NSU shares instead of cash to increase growth exposure)

Leading production growthTimok will add ~300% growth in copper production in 4-5 years

365

555

265

95

240

135 145117

HudBay Lundin Oz Minerals Nevsun Capstone Taseko Sandfire Imperial Metals

2021 Main Growth Project 2016 Guidance

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SantoDomingoTimok

Carrapateena

Rosemont

57%Black Butte

Florence

(1) As per analyst estimates and / or each respective company’s mid-point guidance and technical reports (as at September 2016).

C O P P E R P R O D U C T I O N ( 1 ) ( M L B S )608

380 375

330

210180

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One of the largest drilling programs in the sector*

Over 20 drills targeting 130,000 meters in 2017

Drilling in two districts (Timok& Bisha)

Exploration and development

* Company data for mid-tier base metals companies.

Capital project and operating delivery

Built and expanded Bisha on-time and under budget over 3 phases

Deployed over $420 million in capital

Operating Bisha for 6 years, delivering strong earnings and cash flow

Generated about $1 billion in cash from operations in 6 years

Financial delivery

Returned over $170 million to shareholders via dividends and share buy-backs

Growth delivery

Continuous resource growth at Bisha

Current resources (effective Dec 31, 2015) detailed in news release dated Feb 17, 2016. Qualified person is Phil Jankowski BMSC.Current reserves (effective Dec 31, 2015) detailed in 2015 AIF. Qualified person is Anoush Ebrahimi, Ph.D. at SRK Consulting

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Feasibility Jan 2011 Jul 2012 Dec 2013 Dec 2014 Dec 2015

Inferred M&I ResourcesMt

B I S H A D I S T R I C T R E S O U R C E S +115%

Nevsun track record of successManaging and delivering results

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2017 Outlook & Guidance

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Bisha

200–230 mm lbs Zinc at C1 cost of $0.70 to $0.90*

10–20 mm lbs Copper at C1 cost of $0.90 to $1.10*

Stockpile sales 10k oz gold equivalent

$16 million in sustaining capital (not including exploration)

Timok UZ

Deliver UZ pre-feasibility study September

Obtain necessary permits to begin UZ decline Q4

Rapidly advance to production by mid-2021

$45 million UZ budget (including UZ drilling)

Exploration

Complete 130,000 meters in exploration drilling

40,000 meters in Eritrea on Bisha regional exploration

90,000 meters in Serbia primarily on UZ and LZ

Indicative Bisha underground mine study in Q2

$27 million budget (not including UZ)

UZ = Timok Upper Zone: high grade Cu-Au resource and PEA LZ = Timok Lower Zone: Au-Au porphyry mineralization; pre-resource

C1 cash costs are on a co-product basis where site costs are allocated. The allocation method is the ratio of payable production volume, multiplied by

budgeted metals prices (revenue). The zinc co-product costs will remain high, due to a greater share of the cost allocation, until more saleable copper

concentrate is consistently produced.

Nevsun trading at a discount to peersTimok PFS, Bisha commissioning & new CEO value drivers in 2017

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KAZMinerals

OZ Minerals Taseko Capstone Sandfire Trevali Lundin Hudbay FirstQuantum

ImperialMetals

Nevsun CopperMountain

Median: 1.0x

P/

NP

V (x

) Opportunity

Source: Company filings, Fact Set, BMO analyst research, February 2017

Timok ProjectHigh grade copper-gold project

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Strong federal government

support Committed to increasing GDP

contribution from mining from 2% to 5% by 2020

No restrictions on foreign ownership 15% corporate tax rate; 5% NSR royalty on Cu and Au metals

New Dec 2015 mining code

Experienced mining jurisdiction

Inexpensive energy costs

Other miners in Serbia include Rio Tinto, Freeport-McMoRan, First Quantum, Dundee Precious Metals and Mundoro

Government system Parliamentary democracy

Population / GDP

7.1 million (est) / USD 43 billion

Capital Belgrade

Major ethnic groups 83% Serbian, 4% Hungarian, 2% Roma

Serbia: great place to build a mineSupportive government, favorable fiscal and regulatory environment

Serbia: great place to build a mineClose proximity to existing infrastructure, skilled labour and suppliers

TimokProject

Power Roads Rail Water Bor/Aurubis

smelters Ports

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Skilled local workforce

5km from Bor mining and smelting complex; 40,000 person mining town

European quality infrastructure

High grade Timok Upper Zone projectRapidly developed with production by mid-2021

Upper Zone Resource and PEA Semi Massive Sulphide (“SMS”) high-sulphidation

epithermal pyrite and copper sulphide

35 MT @ 2.9%Cu & 1.7g/t Au INFERRED RESOURCE

1.7 MT @ 13.5% Cu & 10.4 g/t Au INDICATED RESOURCE

Subject of the April 2016 Reservoir Minerals PEA5

$US1.5B NPV at $3.00 per lb Cu/$1200 per oz Au

12 year mine life with sub-level open stoping and conventional copper flotation processing

Nevsunowns 100% of Upper Zone

1. The cut-off grade used for the estimate is 0.75% Cu.

2. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimate.

3. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

4. Mineral Resource is given on 100% basis.

5. The Mineral Resources and the associated PEA were reviewed and approved by Martin Pittuck of SRK Consulting (UK) Limited, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, details of which

can be found on SEDAR and the Nevsun website. The PEA is preliminary in nature and it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic

considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no

certainty that the PEA will be realized.

For details see Reservoir Minerals press release April 19, 2016 and associated Technical Report on Nevsun’s website.

U P P E R Z O N E B L O C K M O D E L C O P P E R G R A D E D I S T R I B U T I O N

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High grade copper projectIn a jurisdiction supportive of development

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Grade is King!

*Copper Project Mineral Resource GradesSource: Dundee Capital Markets (now Eight Capital) – February 16, 2017

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Timok project: next stepsPre-feasibility study Upper Zone

Nevsun is rapidly advancing a Pre-Feasibility study ("PFS") for the Upper

Zone.

Key next steps for the project are: PFS targeted to be completed in

September 2017 25,000 metres of drilling Decline development to start later in

Q4 2017 Production anticipated in 2021 ~ $45 million spend in 2017

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Timok project: Lower ZoneLower Zone project adds significant growth potential

Lower Zone Porphyry

Upper Zone

LowerZone

Extensive porphyry style copper-gold mineralization below the Upper Zone w/ block cave potential

Long term potential for world scale project

After UZ feasibility, Freeport-McMoRan 54% JV partner

Drilling $20 million by early 2018 to further define mineralization

P L A N V I E W O F U P P E R & L O W E R Z O N E D E P O S I T S

District potential in Serbia

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Rakita JV with Freeport-McMoRan4 exploration permits in the Borregion, including the Timok project

Tilva JV with Rio Tinto4 exploration permits in close proximity to the Timok project

100% owned projects 7 exploration permits

4 permits: copper targets

3 permits: zinc, lead, gold, silver sulphide targets

Bor Region

Bor Region

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Serbia

Bisha MineHigh grade, modern infrastructure, and

exploration potential

Independence 1993

Politics Single party state

Capital Asmara

Population 6 million (est.)

Culture 50% Islamic / 50% Christian

Currency (Nakfa) Pegged to USD

Established in 1998Nevsun has been working in Eritrea for 19 years

Strong government supportCommitted to mining industry, has contributed capital, and honored all commitments

Stable taxation and mining regulation for over 20 years

Productive, bilingual, local workforce

Copper Concentrate trucked to Massawa

(340 km) for bulk export

About Eritrea

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1200 m

475

m

Bisha Main Open Pit

NO

RT

H

High-grade copper and zincCombined Bisha & Harena Open Pit Reserves (Effective December 31, 2015)

Zone Tonnage Copper Zinc Gold Silver

Primary 21,000 kt 1.10% 5.57 % 0.68 g/t 44 g/t

Based on $2.74/lb Copper, $0.95/lb Zinc,

$1100/oz Gold and $18.50/oz Silver

Notes

1. Primary 0.1Mt proven and the rest probable 2. Qualified person for mineral reserves is Anoush

Ebrahimi, Ph.D. at SRK Consulting.3. See 2015 AIF for detailed reserve assumptions

Underground Potential

E n c o u r a g i n g u n d e r g r o u n d i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n 2 0 1 5

Update in Q2 2017 in resource and

reserve / new technical report

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Zinc expansion ramp-up continuesFirst Zn shipment Sep 2016; commercial production Oct 2016

New Zn Con. Thickening

New Zn Flotation

Expanded Zn/Cu Con.

Filtration

3.5billion lbs of Zn contained in resources

37.7Mt @ 4.3% Zn, measured & indicated resources

2.6 billion lbs of Zn in reserves

21.0Mt @ 5.57% Zn probable reserves

Notes

1. Qualified person for mineral reserves is Anoush Ebrahimi, Ph.D. at SRK Consulting. See 2015 AIF for detailed reserve tables and assumptions.2. Qualified person for resources is Phil Jankowski (BMSC), See news release dated Feb 17, 2016 for detailed resource tables and assumptions

New Zn Con. Storage

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Zinc Offtake UncommittedSelling into spot market in 2017 at low treatment charges

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2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Copper Equivalent Payable Production*

Copper Zinc Gold Silver

*Dec 31, 2013 43-101 Technical Report 2017-2025 payable production - Cu $2.90/lb, Zn $0.92/lb, Au $1175/oz and Ag $20/oz.. Updated annual resource and reserve statement in Q2 2017 with new technical report..

Ownership 60% Nevsun and 40% ENAMCO (Eritrean National Mining Company).

Copper 365 million lbs

Zinc 1.7 billion lbs

Gold 221,000 oz

Silver 7.6 million oz

LOMPayable Metals*mm lbs

Diversified production (Bisha mine only)Life of mine over 900 million pounds of payable copper equivalent*

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2017 Production Guidance: 200-230 mm lbs zinc10-20 mm lbs copper

Northwest

Bisha Mine

Harena Mine

Hambok

Map scale is approximate

Bisha VMS districtCamp

NORTH

Plant

Asheli

Aderat

Current Mining Licenses

Mining Agreement Area

Tabakin Exploration License

New Mogoraib River Exploration License

Mines

Deposits

Target Trend / Horizon

Felsic Volcanic

Objective: To Extend Life of Bisha Mill Focus in 2017 on: expanding Harena &

Asheli resources and advancing underground studies

Defining high priority targets with geophysics (VTEM) and drill testing

DistrictExplorationSuccess Discovered 4 additional satellite deposits Continuous resource growth since 2012 Large deposit being defined at Harena

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Eritrea

As at Dec. 31, 2016 unless otherwise indicated

Shares Outstanding ≈301M

Fully Diluted ≈312M

Market Cap ≈C$1.2B*

Cash ≈US$200M

No Debt US$0M

Share StructureAnalyst Coverage

BMO Capital Markets Canaccord Genuity Macquarie Paradigm Capital RBC Capital Markets Scotia Capital TD Securities

Shareholders

Blackrock ~ 15% Vanguard ~ 12% >70% institutional ownership

Strong holders & broad coverage

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* As at February 15, 2017

Strong Site Management Teams

Experienced leadershipManagementCliff Davis, CEO

Frazer Bourchier, COO

Joe Giuffre, CLO

Scott Trebilcock, CDO

Tom Whelan, CFO

Ken Engquist, VP Project Development

Peter Manojlovic, VP Exploration

Todd Romaine, VP CSR

Peter Tam, VP Finance

DirectorsR. Stuart Angus, Chairman

Ian AshbyGeoff ChaterCliff DavisGary German

Ian PearceStephen ScottDavid Smith

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I N V E S T O R R E L A T I O N S

T E L : +1 604-623-4700 | 1-888-600-2200E M A I L : ir@nevsun.comW E B : www.nevsun.com

TSX: NSU | NYSE MKT: NSU

Contact

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