Corrosive coastal air
Salt carried inland corrodes connectors, speaker grilles and housings over months, not weeks. IP68 sealing and the usual practice of rinsing a handset after exposure are the sensible starting points for an evaluation.
Peru · Marcobre
Explosion proof mobile phone for Marcobre
Mina Justa, operated by Marcobre in the Marcona district of Ica, is a copper mine on Peru's coastal desert owned 60 per cent by Minsur and 40 per cent by Alxar, a Copec subsidiary. This page covers where an explosion proof mobile phone is relevant at Mina Justa in Peru, across its sulphide concentrator, oxide leach plant and desalination supply, and what its teams will ask of a handset supplier. The IS-04Z1 is designed around intrinsic safety rather than a flameproof enclosure.
Launching Q4 2026 · certification and vendor documentation in progress
Local approvalINACAL · IECExIECEx · INACAL in progress
AvailabilityQ4 2026via authorised distributors
The site · Mina Justa
Where an explosion proof mobile phone is needed at Mina Justa
Mina Justa has two processing routes, which is what makes its hazardous areas unusual. Project descriptions give a 6 million tonne a year copper sulphide concentrator and a 12 million tonne a year vat-leach oxide plant with solvent extraction and electrowinning, working through two open pits and designed for about 16 years of mine life. Production was scheduled to start in 2021. Water comes from seawater desalination, which is notable in a desert. The concentrator handles dry ore and concentrate, so combustible dust is the question there. The oxide plant uses solvent extraction, where an organic diluent is a flammable liquid and the plant is laid out around that fact. Marcobre is a newer operation, so the equipment fleet and approved supplier list are still being built, and a supplier with complete documentation arrives at a better moment than at a site with decades of incumbent contracts.
Ownership and plant
- Minsur
- Peruvian mining company holding 60 per cent of Marcobre.
- Alxar
- Subsidiary of Empresas Copec of Chile, holding 40 per cent.
- Sulphide concentrator
- Designed for around 6 million tonnes a year, producing copper concentrate.
- Oxide plant
- Vat leaching with solvent extraction and electrowinning, around 12 million tonnes a year in the design.
- Desalination
- Seawater is desalinated and pumped to site for process and other uses.
- Location
- Marcona district, Ica, near the Pacific coast and close to Shougang Hierro Peru.
Areas where classification questions arise
- Crushing and conveying
- Dust at transfer points in a dry desert climate.
- Sulphide grinding and flotation
- Reagent stores, dosing and mill buildings.
- Solvent extraction
- Organic diluent in mixer-settlers, tanks and the surrounding bund.
- Electrowinning tankhouse
- Mainly acid mist and electrical hazards rather than flammable gas; classification is for the site study.
- Fuel storage
- Diesel for the haul fleet and mobile plant.
- Desalination and pumping
- Largely unclassified, though chemical dosing areas need review.
Built for local conditions
What Mina Justa does to a handset
Mina Justa is at sea level, so the battery questions that dominate the Andean mines mostly disappear. What replaces them is salt, sand and heat. The IS-04Z1 is designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 and has IP68 sealing; certification is in progress and no certificate has yet been issued.
IP ratingIP68
Battery4,000 mAh
Camera50 MP
OSAndroid 16
Fine desert sand
The Ica desert produces wind-blown sand finer than most mine dust. A fully sealed handset keeps it out of ports, and the Zone 21 design target applies where combustible dust accumulates.
Two plants, two hazard families
A technician may move from a dust-producing concentrator to a solvent-extraction plant in one shift. A device designed for both Zone 1 and Zone 21 reduces the number of items to carry, but the operator's drawings decide which area permits what.
A newer fleet and an open supplier list
With operations only recently established, Marcobre is still settling its preferred equipment. A supplier that can show a complete certificate and support route has a better chance than one proposing a late change.
Peru and Chile as reference points
With Peruvian and Chilean owners, the benchmark for what good looks like can come from both countries' mining practice. Documentation in Spanish and English helps both.
Use cases · Marcobre
Where the IS-04Z1 goes to work at Mina Justa
Concentrator01
Sulphide plant rounds
Operators in the grinding and flotation building record readings, photograph defects and call the control room. A handset suited to classified areas replaces the radio and the paper log.
Oxide plant02
Solvent extraction inspections
In an area where an organic diluent circulates, uncertified electronics are normally excluded. A certified handset would allow operators to log levels and report leaks from within the area, once certification exists.
Utilities03
Desalination and pipeline supply
Technicians checking the seawater supply, pumping and dosing need position records and photographs along a long route. A durable, enrolled handset suits that job.
Questions · Marcobre
Frequently asked questions
Is Mina Justa's SX plant a Zone 1 area?
It depends on the design, the diluent flashpoint and the ventilation, and the operator's classification study decides. Where a flammable organic phase is handled, an Ex-certified device is generally required in the area.
Does the device need altitude derating at Mina Justa?
No altitude issue arises at sea level, so the high-Andes battery and cold questions are mostly absent. The environmental questions here are salt, sand and heat.
Is Marcobre related to Shougang Hierro Peru nearby?
They are separate companies in the same district, with different owners, commodities and procurement. A relationship with one does not carry over to the other.
Can a supplier join Marcobre's list before certification?
Registration and approval are for Marcobre to describe. Ask its procurement and HSE teams what they need and when. No SAMS certificate has been issued yet, so a trial in classified areas has to wait for it.
Elsewhere in
Peru
Enquiry · Marcobre
Ask about the IS-04Z1 for Marcobre, Peru
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 Peru. 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.
Enquiry · Marcobre
Launching Q4 2026
Evaluating the IS-04Z1 for this site?
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule for your market.