Underground access
Equipment taken underground generally has to suit the mine's hazard classification and may need approval by the mine's own electrical or safety department.
A regional grouping rather than one site: Canada is a major producer of nickel, copper, potash and uranium, and the Sudbury Basin in Ontario is one of the world's largest nickel and copper ore suppliers. Federal coal mining regulations (SOR/90-97) require a qualified person to measure air quantity, flammable gas and carbon monoxide on any roadway where a diesel engine runs, at least once every seven days. If you are specifying a hazardous area mobile phone for Canadian mining regions, this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Canadian mining regions: 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Zone | 0, 1 or 2 for gas; 20, 21 or 22 for dust | Designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC | IIC (target) |
| Area drawing | The operator's own classification drawing | Decided by the site operator |
| Where it applies | Canadian mining regions: Underground mine workings, Ore processing plants, Fuel storage | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Canada Mining Operations. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
A short profile of the site and the kinds of classified area that matter for portable equipment.
Equipment taken underground generally has to suit the mine's hazard classification and may need approval by the mine's own electrical or safety department.
Winters in much of mining Canada are cold enough that battery performance, glove use on touchscreens and condensation are practical concerns.
Canada was the world's largest potash producer in 2019 and a top-ten producer of gold, nickel, platinum, iron ore, titanium, niobium, sulphur, molybdenum and cobalt.
Where flammable gas exceeds 0.8 percent near electrical equipment or diesel engines the area must be tested at least every eight hours, and a methanometer alarm is required at longwall faces where gas may reach 1.25 percent.
Saskatchewan alone produces about 15 percent of the world's uranium, and hard-rock underground mining has long driven development in northern Canada.
Over half of the world's publicly listed exploration and mining companies were headquartered in Canada in 2013, and Toronto handles about 80 percent of global mining equity trades.
A hazardous area is a place where flammable gas, vapour or combustible dust may be present. Standards divide these into zones: Zones 0, 1 and 2 for gas and vapour, and Zones 20, 21 and 22 for dust. Zone 1 and Zone 21 are the tier where an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation, which is where the IS-04Z1 is designed to work. Anything carried in must be marked for the zone, gas group and temperature class of the area.
No certificate has been issued for the IS-04Z1 yet, so it must not be taken into a classified area until the certificate covering it exists and the site operator has accepted it.
In Canadian mining regions. Typical controlled areas are underground workings, ore processing plants, fuel storage and explosives storage. Classification is carried out by the mine operator under provincial rules, such as Ontario Regulation 854 for mines and mining plants. SAMS does not classify areas, and a specifier should ask the mine for its own hazard assessment.
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.
Zone 1 and Zone 21 (gas and dust) with gas group IIC and temperature class T4, subject to certification. It must not be used in a classified area before its certificate is issued and the site has accepted it.
Likely candidates are underground mine workings, ore processing plants, fuel storage, explosives storage. 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.
Mining is mostly provincial, so each province enforces its own occupational health and safety rules; federal regulations such as the coal mining ones apply to federal jurisdictions. Confirm which authority and which Ex marking scheme the mine accepts.
Underground coal mines are the clearest case because methane is a flammable gas. Some hard-rock operations have fuel stores, explosives areas or battery charging bays that are classified, so confirm with the mine's hazard assessment which areas need certified devices.
Mine safety is regulated province by province. Ontario, for example, has Regulation 854 (Mines and Mining Plants) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, with a part on electrical equipment. Other provinces have their own rules, and each mine may add requirements. Check the applicable provincial regulation and the operator's procedure.
More on Canada Mining Operations, and on other places in Canada.
Share the site details and quantity. You will get the datasheet and the certification schedule back by email; pricing is indicative only until launch.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.