Chile: industry on the ground
In 2025 Chile was the world's largest producer of copper, iodine and rhenium, and the third-largest producer of lithium and molybdenum.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe handset for people who cross into classified areas in Chile every shift: copper and lithium plant operators in the Atacama, refinery crews at Concón, and the HSE and telecoms teams who equip them. Buyers searching for an intrinsically safe cell phone supplier for Chile can take the datasheet and the certification schedule for the IS-04Z1 now; supply follows certification.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. An intrinsically safe cell phone for Chile cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
Where things stand: the IS-04Z1 has not launched, and none of its four certification routes has produced a certificate yet. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Level of protection | ia, ib or ic matched to the zone | ib, for Zone 1 |
| Entity parameters | Uo, Io and Po within the device limits | Published with the certificate |
| Accessories | Chargers and cases certified with the device | Defined at certification |
| Where it applies | Chile: Concón, Magallanes, Chuquicamata / Calama | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Chile. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS Chile market guide.
In 2025 Chile was the world's largest producer of copper, iodine and rhenium, and the third-largest producer of lithium and molybdenum.
Mining is governed by separate bodies including the Chilean Copper Commission, ENAMI, SERNAGEOMIN and the Ministry of Mining, so a mine's safety rules come from the mining regulator as well as electrical law.
SUBTEL approves radio and telecom devices in Chile, including mobile phones, and approval is needed before importation and sale of any product using radio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or telecom networks.
Mining is concentrated in 14 districts in the northern half of the country, especially the Norte Grande region spanning most of the Atacama Desert, so many sites are arid and remote.
Intrinsic safety limits the electrical and thermal energy in a circuit so that neither a spark nor a hot surface can ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even when a fault occurs. The ib level, used for Zone 1, tolerates one fault. It is the usual way to make a handheld device that a worker carries continuously through a hazardous area.
The IS-04Z1 is designed on this principle for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4). Intrinsic safety is a design basis, not a certificate: certification is in progress and none has been issued yet.
In Chile. Walking distances at an open-pit mine or salt-flat processing plant are long, and there is no recharging point inside a classified area. An intrinsically safe handheld is designed for these rounds, with a 4,000 mAh cell specified for a full shift, so a shift of inspections at Escondida or the Salar de Atacama is not cut short.
Supply of the IS-04Z1 to Chile starts only after certification, through authorised distributors. Until then a buyer can request the datasheet and the written certification schedule, and arrange a safe-area evaluation unit, which puts the site on the list for the right local channel at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
Not today. Until the certificates are issued the IS-04Z1 stays out of classified areas, and until launch there is nothing to purchase. You can ask for the datasheet and the certification schedule, or book a safe-area evaluation unit.
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.
The circuits are designed to limit energy so a spark or hot surface cannot ignite a gas or dust atmosphere, even with one fault (level ib, Zone 1). Certification of that design is in progress.
The market guide for Chile covers Chuquicamata / Calama, Escondida, Salar de Atacama, Collahuasi, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
Northern mining districts are arid, with strong sun, large day-night temperature swings and fine dust, and many sites are at altitude. Check the operating temperature range, dust ingress rating and battery performance, and confirm any altitude or site-specific limits with the operator.
Yes. SERNAGEOMIN is the national geology and mining service, and it works alongside the Ministry of Mining and other bodies. Mining sites therefore follow mining safety rules in addition to electrical requirements, so ask the mine's compliance team which rules apply to portable devices underground and on the surface.
No: Codelco and the major private miners each run vendor-registration and engineering-approval processes, so a device can be SEC-cleared yet unlisted on an operator's equipment register. SEC and Subtel approvals are being pursued and are not finished. Confirm the registration route with the operator before purchase.
Related guides for Chile and for Chile.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.