A small community in Western Australia is fighting a losing battle to save itself from being literally undermined in a decades-long struggle against one of the nation's largest gold mining companies.

Residents of Williamstown, just outside of Kalgoorlie, say the disturbance caused by regular controlled explosions only a few hundred metres beneath them is growing, and causing damage to property.

Rich deposits of gold underneath and around the community have made it an attractive prospect for mining giant KCGM.

But despite this, and with no new houses built or permanent residents moving in, the community of about 132 people is in decline and its population is steadily shrinking.

KCGM has substantially grown its mining operations under Williamstown in recent years, but remains tight-lipped about its long-term plans for mining underneath the town.

Lifelong local Fay Henderson said after years of fighting, she is exhausted and feels a sense of dread that it will not be long before the suburb of Williamstown is gone altogether.

Williamstown has been in decline for years, with no new houses built or new permanent residents moving in. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

"It's been quite heartbreaking really. It's difficult to feel very uplifted when you think, well maybe tomorrow some other house will go," she said.

"Williamstown itself is getting smaller and smaller. But I think that it eventually has to pass that we just won't be here, that the mine will engulf us eventually.

"It's just that it's very hard to be hanging on here, waiting and not knowing what the next step will be."

Blasts make floors crack and houses shake

Another long-time resident and retired underground miner, John Bourke, said that while he had grown used to the blasting, it could still sometimes comes as a shock.

"You ever heard a good car crash? The bang and that? That's what it's like," he said.

"It doesn't let you sleep in. You're awake at five o'clock every morning."

Williamstown residents Bob and Janet say they have become used to the constant blasting. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

Several residents the ABC spoke to described feeling the ground shake during blasts, as well as seeing floors cracking and personal effects becoming dislodged.

"When there's blasting in the afternoons, it feels like out the back it's just going to open up the ground," another local, Noelene Walley, said.

"I would like KCGM to buy me out because I'm just scared. I've got grandkids and family here all the time, so if something happens down the back, I wouldn't like that to happen to my family."

"I remember having an old dog who is no longer here, and she would leap a metre off the ground because they were so big," pub worker Janet Linzer said.

"If you move the bloody ground around, you must be doing some damage to what's above it. I'm worried about the whole lot going down the hole," Mr Bourke added.

John 'Bourkey' Bourke says residents of Williamstown feel as if they are awaiting an inevitable fate. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

The explosions are not random, and Williamstown residents most of the time know when to expect them, from letters left by KCGM in their mailboxes.

But each time they do happen, they serve as a reminder that the community is slowly being chipped away from below.

'We're dying off like jack rabbits'

With the population diminishing and ageing, Mr Bourke said residents felt like they were helplessly awaiting an inevitable fate.

"As a few more of us fall off the perch, they [KCGM] have won. No-one else is coming in. No-one else is basically interested in the place," he said.

"If they hang on for a few more years, there'll be none of us left anyway. We're dying off like jack rabbits.

The mining industry is ubiquitous in neighbouring Kalgoorlie, home to the largest open cut gold mine in Australia. ( ABC Goldfields: Tom Joyner )

"I reckon it's big brother screwing the little guy again. And they just hide behind everything, and won't come and talk to you properly."

KCGM is the largest employer in the surrounding region and oversees the nearby Super Pit, the largest open-cut gold mine in Australia.

In neighbouring Kalgoorlie, the company and the mining industry at large has a domineering influence on everyday life, from community programs to local politics.

KCGM did not agree to an interview, and a statement provided by a spokesperson did not fully address the ABC's questions, including what the company's long-term plans were for mining operations beneath Williamstown.

"KCGM regularly consults with the Kalgoorlie-Boulder community, including Williamstown, and prides itself on open and transparent engagement," the statement read.

"KCGM has not recently made offers or purchased residential properties in Williamstown."

It added that Williamstown residents were encouraged to use a 24-hour public interaction line to submit complaints and feedback.