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.
Chile · intrinsically safe
Intrinsically Safe Mobile Phone in Chile
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. If you are specifying an intrinsically safe mobile phone for Chile, this page covers the markings, the approvals and the current certification status of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Marking targetEx ib IIC T4Intrinsic safety, Zone 1 / 21 design target · certification in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
Search topicintrinsically safe
DeviceMobile Phone
RouteSpecification
WhereChile
Short answer. The SAMS IS-04Z1 is the intrinsically safe smartphone covered here for Chile: pre-launch, designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4), with certification in progress and no certificate issued.
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.
At a glance · intrinsically safe
Checklist: intrinsically safe mobile phone for Chile
| 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: Chuquicamata / Calama, Escondida, Salar de Atacama | Classified by the site operator |
Product · Chile
The product behind this search: the SAMS IS-04Z1.
SAMS IS-04Z1
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.
- IP68 sealed
- 4,000 mAh battery
- 50 MP camera
- Android 16
- Zone 1 / Zone 21 design target
The market · Chile
Where this applies in Chile
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS Chile market guide.
Operators, EPCs and contractors
- Codelco
- State copper miner — Chuquicamata, El Teniente and other major divisions
- BHP / Minera Escondida
- Operator of Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine
- SQM
- Sociedad Química y Minera — lithium and potassium extraction on the Atacama salt flats
- Antofagasta Minerals
- Major private copper mining group
- Collahuasi
- Anglo American and Glencore joint-venture copper mine
- ENAP
- Empresa Nacional del Petróleo — state refining at Concón and Biobío, and Magallanes gas production
Industrial areas and sites
- Chuquicamata / Calama
- Codelco’s giant open-pit copper mine and smelting operations
- Escondida
- Concentrator and processing complex in the Atacama highlands
- Salar de Atacama
- Lithium and potassium brine extraction ponds
- Collahuasi
- High-altitude copper mine near the Bolivian border
- Concón
- ENAP refinery on the central coast near Viña del Mar
- Magallanes
- Southern gas production region near Punta Arenas
Field notes · Chile
More about Chile that matters for portable equipment
Chile: rules and approvals
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.
Chile: rules and approvals
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.
Chile: geography and layout
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.
The term · intrinsically safe
What “intrinsically safe” means for a smartphone
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.
The route · specification
Specifying an intrinsically safe mobile phone for Chile
A short checklist for anyone writing or reviewing the specification, with the IS-04Z1 status against each point.
Check on the paper
- Marking
- Equipment group, category, protection concept, gas group and temperature class, matched to the area drawing.
- Certificate and schedule
- A certificate number, issuing body and the schedule of conditions, not a brochure claim.
- Standards edition
- The IEC 60079 or national standard edition the certificate was issued against.
Check for the IS-04Z1
- Marking target
- II 2 G Ex ib IIC T4: a target, not yet a certificate.
- Certificate status
- IECEx, ATEX, UKEX and NEC 500 in progress; none issued.
- Operator approval
- Separate from the certificate and handled with the site operator.
Questions · Chile
Frequently asked questions
Can we buy an intrinsically safe mobile phone in Chile today?
Not yet. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and its certification is still in progress ahead of a Q4 2026 launch. No unit goes into a classified area before the certificate covering it exists. The datasheet, the certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
What does an intrinsically safe mobile phone in Chile cost?
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
What does ‘intrinsically safe’ mean for the IS-04Z1?
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.
Which sites in Chile does this cover?
The market guide for Chile covers Chuquicamata / Calama, Escondida, Salar de Atacama, Collahuasi, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Is intrinsically safe the same as explosion proof?
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.
How should devices cope with Atacama Desert conditions?
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.
Do Chilean mines have their own safety regulator?
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.
Is SEC clearance enough to use the phone at Codelco or Escondida?
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
Keep exploring
Other guides for Chile, other places in Chile, and the pages behind them.
Hazardous Area Mobile Phone Distributor in ChileSame place, different guide
Explosion-Proof Mobile Phone Supplier in ChileSame place, different guide
IECEx Mobile Phone Supplier in ChileSame place, different guide
ATEX and IECEx Mobile Phone Distributor in ChileSame place, different guide
Ex-Proof Mobile Phone in ChileSame place, different guide
Industrial Mobile Phone Distributor in ChileSame place, different guide
Chile market guideCertification route and regulators
All guides for ChileEvery route we cover
Certification statusWhat is in progress
Enquiry · Chile
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Chile
Tell us what you need to equip and where. The SAMS team answers by email with the datasheet and where each certification route stands.
Enquiry · Chile
Launching Q4 2026
Planning for Chile?
Send the zone and gas group of your site and we will reply with the datasheet and schedule.