Underground operations
Grasberg has three active underground mines (Grasberg Block Cave, Deep Mill Level Zone and Big Gossan) alongside the former open pit.
Timika, capital of Mimika Regency in Central Papua, is the service base for the Grasberg copper and gold mine run by PT Freeport Indonesia. Grasberg has a large open pit completed in 2019, three operating underground mines, the Block Cave, Deep Mill Level Zone and Big Gossan, and four concentrators, milling more than 72 million tonnes of ore in 2023. This page explains what to look for in an explosion proof mobile phone for Timika and the Grasberg mining district, and where the IS-04Z1 stands against that list today.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Timika and the Grasberg mining district: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
For the record, no certificate exists for the IS-04Z1 today. The programme is under way ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Protection concept | Flameproof (Ex d) or intrinsic safety (Ex i) | Intrinsic safety, level ib |
| Zone suitability | Zone 1 gas and Zone 21 dust | Design target for Zone 1 and 21 |
| Certificate | Number, issuing body and schedule of conditions | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Timika and the Grasberg mining district: Concentrator and process plant, Fuel storage and distribution, Concentrate port and dewatering | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Timika Mining. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The companies on site and the hazardous-area types a handset is likely to meet there.
Grasberg has three active underground mines (Grasberg Block Cave, Deep Mill Level Zone and Big Gossan) alongside the former open pit.
Timika averages about 5,690 mm of rain a year in a tropical rainforest climate.
Grasberg held proven and probable reserves of 14.0 million tonnes of copper, 808 tonnes of gold and 3,773 tonnes of silver at the end of 2022, so mining is expected to continue for decades.
PT Freeport Indonesia runs Grasberg, with Indonesian state interests through MIND ID holding 51.23 percent and Freeport-McMoRan 48.77 percent, and mining rights were extended to 2041.
The Grasberg mine lies in Mimika Regency, Central Papua, near Puncak Jaya, and the original mine was built at about 4,100 metres above sea level, with the open pit rim at roughly 4,270 metres.
Early construction included a 116 km road and pipeline, a port, an airstrip, a power plant and a new town, so the operation is largely self-contained and supplied by sea and air.
“Explosion proof” is the phrase most buyers use for equipment that may be taken into a classified hazardous area. Strictly, it covers several protection concepts: a flameproof enclosure (Ex d) contains an internal explosion, while intrinsic safety (Ex i) limits electrical energy so that an ignition cannot start. Phones are normally intrinsically safe, because a flameproof handset would be too heavy to carry all shift.
The IS-04Z1 uses intrinsic safety, with a marking target of Ex ib IIC T4, and is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21. It is pre-launch, certification is in progress and no certificate has been issued.
In Timika and the Grasberg mining district. At the concentrator, fuel stores and underground mines, explosion-proof is shorthand for several concepts. Flameproof Ex d guards fixed equipment, while a handheld carried between areas relies on intrinsic safety. Underground workings have their own rules, which the operator decides.
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
It is intrinsically safe (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), which is the usual way to make a phone for hazardous areas. It is not a flameproof (Ex d) design, and certification is still in progress.
Likely candidates are concentrator and process plant, fuel storage and distribution, concentrate port and dewatering, underground mine areas. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Not exactly. Explosion proof is a broad everyday term; intrinsic safety is one protection concept, which limits energy so ignition cannot occur. Flameproof (Ex d) is a different concept that contains an explosion. The IS-04Z1 is intrinsically safe by design.
Grasberg has block-cave and other underground operations with large ore flows and ventilation. Equipment in underground areas typically needs the approvals the operator specifies, and the mine controls access, so ask for its underground device and communications requirements.
A planned 265 MW LNG-fired plant by 2027 would add natural gas storage and handling near the port, which sites usually classify as hazardous areas. Check with the operator for updated classification drawings if you will work near new power facilities.
Not necessarily. Underground mines have their own classification and approval rules set by the operator. A device accepted at the concentrator may not be accepted underground. Ask the operator's central safety team about each area.
Other guides for Timika Mining, other places in Indonesia, and the pages behind them.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.