The police said the man, identified as Kamaraj, was intercepted while he was travelling on his two-wheeler.
They found explosive materials inside the vehicle following which he was arrested as he did not have proper documents for transporting it.
He has been remanded to judicial custody, the police said.
Kamaraj was allegedly going to a closed mine at Devala in Nilgiris district to search for gold by blasting rocks using the explosives, they said.
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