February 22, 2011

• Bisha Declares Commercial Production
• Commercial production achieved on schedule and under budget
• Producing over 1,000 ounces per day
• Produced 40,000 ounces of gold to date
• Recoveries higher than expected

VANCOUVER,BC – Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU / NYSE Amex:NSU) is very pleased to announce that the Bisha Mine in Eritrea has reached commercial production. Commercial production marks the completion of project development, commissioning and operational ramp-up of the mine and processing plant. The operation is currently producing gold at a rate in excess of 1,000 ounces per day.

The commissioning of the plant commenced in late October, with first gold pour in late December and a progressive ramp up thereafter. Plant throughput averaged approximately 5,250 tonnes per day over the last 30 days, with a peak of 6,560 tonnes per day, well above schedule.

Recoveries are also higher than planned, averaging 89% over the last 30 days. During the commissioning phase, Bisha has produced approximately 40,000 ounces of gold.

Nevsun’s President Cliff Davis states “We are very pleased to bring this spectacular deposit into production and under budget. Our success can be attributed to our staff, contractors and the unwavering support of the Government of Eritrea.

The State has understood from the beginning that responsible development of the mining industry has the potential to be a significant economic catalyst to the State of Eritrea over the next several years.”

Commercial production was defined as >90% of planned throughput and >90% of planned recoveries for a period of >30 days.

As announced in the Company’s news release dated January 27, 2011, the Company’s independent engineer is currently working on a re-statement of reserves for the Bisha deposit and anticipates this will be available before the end of this quarter.

Forward Looking Statements: The above contains forward-looking statements concerning development and operating progress. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “potential,” “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur or be achieved. 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, including, without limitation, those described in the Management Discussion and Analysis of the Company. 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. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

NEVSUN RESOURCES LTD.

“Cliff T. Davis”

Cliff T. Davis

President & Chief Executive Officer

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU)(NYSE Amex:NSU) is pleased to announce its successful first gold pour at the Bisha Gold Mine during late December. The first pour was part of the plant commissioning process and rendered two dore bars totaling 26 kilograms (approx. 920 ounces).

President Cliff Davis stated, “Nevsun’s first gold pour is a tremendous achievement that has been accomplished by a team of outstanding professionals on the ground in Eritrea and with the continued support of the Eritrean Government. It gives me great pleasure to say we are on time, under budget, and will considerably further the country’s development with the realization of Eritrea’s first modern day mine. In the face of difficult capital markets during 2008/2009 and other obstacles overcome in 2010, we are proud of this significant accomplishment. We look forward to substantially growing Bisha in the coming months, in terms of reserves and throughput. This success should be a good indicator of our strategic capability in the future.”

Over the next few months, plant commissioning will continue to test, troubleshoot, and rectify any issues that arise. Nevsun anticipates the ramp up to full commercial production during the course of Q1 2011.

Forward Looking Statements: The above contains forward-looking statements concerning development progress, planned mine output and project economics. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “potential,” “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur or be achieved. 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, including, without limitation, those described in the Management Discussion and Analysis of the Company. 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. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

NEVSUN RESOURCES LTD.

Nevsun Plant

VANCOUVER, BC – Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU)(NYSE Amex:NSU) has announced today that it met its target to commence plant commissioning at the Bisha Mine during Q4.

This significant milestone brings the Company one step closer to commercial production in Eritrea.

The power plant has been commissioned and is delivering power for the commissioning process. This process includes in depth testing of equipment and stress testing the plant before introducing ore. The Company intends to introduce low-grade ore in the coming month.

Bisha is on track for commercial gold production in Q1 2011. The current mine plan aims to produce 450,000 ounces of gold in the first year of commercial production at a cost of less than $250 per ounce.

Nevsun Mine

(The Northern Miner) – Nevsun pushes towards production in Eritrea Vancouver – Nevsun Resources (NSU-T) is now more than halfway through building Eritrea’s first mine, on schedule to commission the gold silver-copper-zinc operation before the end of the year.

The company began prestrip mining in March at Bisha, which sits 250 km west of the capital city Asmara. The prestrip is expected to take six month, as a hill adjacent to the deposit must be partially removed to make room for the open pit. Nevsun expects to start stockpiling ore early in the third quarter.

Installation of the semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) and ball mills should be finished by the middle of the year, structural steelwork is well advanced, and workers are laying down the impermeable liner of the tailings facility.

The Bisha mine will tap into a layered volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit. The top layer, a goldrich gossan, contains 4 million proven and probable tonnes grading 7.99 grams gold per tonne and 32.85 grams silver per tonne. Those reserves will feed the 5,000-tonne-per-day mill for 2.5 years.

Next, the mill will churn through a 6.4-million tonne supergene layer grading 4.4% copper, 0.83 gram gold, and 35.98 grams silver for three years. Finally, the mine will reach the primary sulphide portion of the deposit, which currently contains 9.7 million proven and probable tonnes grading 7.21% zinc, 1.14% copper, 0.76 gram gold, and 54 grams silver.

The current mine plan only covers ten years of operation but Nevsun is confident Bisha will be active for much longer than that.

First, the pit was designed using very conservative metal prices, including US$400 per oz. gold. With prices currently more than double those used to build the pit shell, Nevsun is redesigning the pit to access the deeper, zinc-rich zone at the south end.

An area known as the Hangingwall Copper zone will likely add resources to the expanded pit, reducing the increase in strip ratio.

And Nevsun has completed some infill drilling at Harena, a satellite zone 9.5 km southwest of the Bisha deposit, and further work is planned to assess its potential for additional mill feed. In particular, the company is probing Harena’s southwest strike extension; the gravity and electromagnetic signatures that revealed mineralization at Harena continue to the southwest but have not yet been fully drill-tested. Nevsun also plans to drill other VMS targets on the Bisha property.

With Bisha’s cost requirements staying under control – in February Nevsun revised the original capex projection of US$250 up by just 4% to US$260 – the company has managed to retain a cash position of $29 million. And Nevsun expects Bisha to start producing positive cash flow in the first quarter of 2011.

Using metal prices of US$900 per oz. gold, US$2.25 per lb. copper, US75¢ per lb. zinc, and US$12 per oz. silver, Bisha should generate a 45% internal rate of return, enabling payback of development costs in 1.6 years.

Nevsun’s share price has spent April ranging between $2.85 and $3.20. The company has a 52-week share price range of $1.21 to $3.66 and has 193 million shares outstanding.

Mining

Tim Goyder and Douglas Jones, the two directors of Chalice Gold Mines made today several briefings across London according to Minesite.

Chalice Gold Mines is on its way to merge with Sub-Sahara Resources mainly for financial reasons.

Minesite states “Sub-Sahara has just under a million ounces of gold at Zara, but very little money for development, while Chalice is looking for a flagship property to run, and has around A$10 million in the bank to move things nicely along”.

The interview also revealed that Chalice’s takeover of Sub-Sahara has reached the final stages and that the deal should be made official at a shareholders meeting on the 4th of August.

The directors even refer back to history, mentioning that the region is awaking from a long sleep after the Arabian-Nubian shield used to host mines producing gold for King Solomon, the Pharaohs and the Queen of Sheba in neoproterozoic times.

According to Chalice the region enjoys high prospectivity and high marketing potential.

Further, the directors remark that the Zara area was discovered by artisans in the late 1990s, and that yet exploration on this particular patch of the Arabian-Nubian shield has been minimal.

So far, with the current focus on the Koka prospect it is said, that 50 kilometres of strike on a major gold mineralized corridor has been established. Koka prospect is where Sub-Sahara has booked its 944,000 ounces. According to the interview, Koka’s largely drilled off, except at depth, but Mr. Douglas mentioned, “the potential for repetition of this type of deposit along the Zara strike zone is quite good”.

Chalice is planning to undertake a scoping study phase followed by a feasibility study completing both by May next year. Quoting the directors, there is optimism to start production of 100,000 ounces of gold per year in 2011.

Initial indications for the development costs of the Zara project in Eritrea are US$70 million. It is for this reason, that the directors are being occupied in meeting brokers and bankers in London, Boston and New York, as well as considering a Canadian listing for Chalice.