An explosion proof mobile phone for Codelco has to suit a state holding company rather than a single mine. Divisions as different as Chuquicamata, now mined underground, and El Teniente, one of the world's largest underground copper mines, each carry their own operating culture and, often, their own equipment history. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · IECEx dust-rating programme in progress
Codelco's divisions were, in several cases, independent operations before consolidation into the state company, and each retains enough operational distinctness that a device standard needs to work across genuinely different mine types.
Chuquicamata's vast open pit and El Teniente's underground block-caving operation present different working environments and different dust-generation patterns, and Codelco's device standard needs to cover both without treating one as the default.
Chuquicamata sits above 2,800 metres in the Atacama, while other divisions operate at different elevations and climates, a spread that puts a wider range of environmental conditions under one company's device policy than a single-site miner would need to consider.
Codelco's divisions have decades of independent operating history before and after nationalisation, meaning device and vendor-approval practices can still vary by division even under common corporate ownership.
El Teniente's underground scale means equipment and personnel move through tunnel networks rather than open-pit haul roads, a different day-to-day carry pattern for a handset than surface mining.
EMM and MDM enrolment supports Codelco managing a consistent device profile across open-pit and underground divisions with different operating environments.
Chile's state copper company and the world's largest copper producer, operating several major mining divisions.
Codelco's northern operations include Chuquicamata, Radomiro Tomic, Ministro Hales and Gabriela Mistral, with Salvador further south in the Atacama region, then Andina and El Teniente in the central Andes. Mining is the headline activity, but the classified areas sit in the processing and support plant around it.
Codelco divisions combine operating staff with very large contractor workforces, and the practices differ between them. Introductions are best planned division by division.
Crews underground work in a ventilated network where radio coverage, lone-working rules and stricter electrical limits already apply. A handset that is designed for the area and can run the operator's messaging application removes one separate device from the belt.
Smelting and refining combine hot work, gas supplies and acid handling. Inspection rounds there benefit from photographs and positions logged on the same device that reaches the control room.
Codelco's divisions use contractors extensively. Ask the division's procurement and HSE teams how supplier equipment is approved and who controls handset enrolment for contractor staff. Compare with the explosion proof phone for BHP at Escondida, which runs a separate process.
No. The device is pre-launch, and the IECEx dust-rating scope is still in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Not automatically. Codelco's divisions have historically run distinct operating and procurement practices, so introductions are being scoped division by division.
The Zone 21/22 dust rating and IP68 sealing are intended to suit both environments, though the day-to-day carry pattern and specific site rules differ between an open pit and an underground operation.
No. Codelco is Chile's state copper company; Escondida is majority-owned and operated by BHP. The two are separate companies with separate procurement processes.
That is Codelco's decision. A division with a smelter and refinery presents the widest mix of gas and dust areas, while an underground mine presents the tightest operating rules. Either can start with a small enrolled pilot after the certificate exists.
No. The device is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so nothing has been submitted for approval at any Codelco division. This page describes what its teams would ask for.
It was for a century, but Codelco now mines it underground, and the open pit is no longer the main operation. The smelter and refinery near Calama remain part of the division.
Tell us the site, the zone and gas group, and roughly how many handsets. The SAMS team replies by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule for Chile. The IS-04Z1 is pre-launch and certification is in progress, so there is no list price yet; indicative pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.
