UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                   FORM 12b-25

                           NOTIFICATION OF LATE FILING

(Check  One):  |X| Form  10-K |_| Form 20-F |_| Form 11-K |_| Form 10-Q |_| Form
N-SAR

For Period Ended:  December 31, 2002


[ ] Transition Report on Form 10-K
[ ] Transition Report on Form 20-F
[ ] Transition Report on Form 11-K
[ ] Transition Report on Form 10-Q
[ ] Transition Report on Form N-SAR
For the Transition Period Ended:


PART I -- REGISTRANT INFORMATION


Full Name of Registrant

BETTER MINERALS & AGGREGATES COMPANY

Address of Principal Executive Office (Street and Number)

Route 522 North, P.O. Box 187


City, State and Zip Code

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia 25411



PART II -- RULES 12b-25(b) AND (c)

If the subject report could not be filed without  unreasonable effort or expense
and the registrant seeks






relief pursuant to Rule 12b-25(b), the following should be completed. (Check box
if appropriate)

                     (a) The reasons described in reasonable detail in Part III
                     of this form could not be eliminated without unreasonable
                     effort or expense;
                     (b) The subject annual report, semi-annual report,
                     transition report on Form 10-K, Form 20-F,11-K or
                     Form N-SAR, or portion thereof, will be filed
                     on or before the fifteenth calendar day following the
        |X|          prescribed due date; or the subject quarterly report or
                     transition report on Form 10-Q, or portion thereof will be
                     filed on or before the fifth calendar day following the
                     prescribed due date; and
                     (c) The accountant's statement or other exhibit required
                     by Rule 12b-25(c) has been attached if applicable.

PART III - NARRATIVE

State below in reasonable detail the reasons why Forms 10-K, 20-F, 11-K, 10-Q,
N-SAR, or the transition report portion thereof, could not be filed within the
prescribed time period.

The  Registrant  requests an extension of time to file its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 for three  principal  reasons.  First,
the  Registrant's  subsidiary,  U.S.  Silica  Company,  experienced a sudden and
dramatic increase in the number of third-party product liability claims asserted
against  it in the  fourth  quarter  of 2002  and it  undertook  an  independent
actuarial  study to  estimate  the  potential  future  cost impact to it and the
Registrant  from this  unexpected  development,  the  results of which were only
recently  received and are still under  review by the  Registrant.  Second,  the
Registrant is undergoing a process to sell its aggregates subsidiaries,  and the
negotiations are ongoing.  Third, on March 13, 2003, the Registrant completed an
amendment to its senior credit agreement, which waived through June 30, 2003 the
Registrant's non-compliance with certain financial ratio covenants and permitted
it to borrow an additional $15 million of term C senior debt secured by a second
lien on the assets secured by the credit  agreement.  Discussions are continuing
between  the  Registrant  and its  senior  lenders  to  provide  for  additional
financial ratio covenant  changes.  If those changes are not received,  it would
result in an opinion from our auditors on the 2002 audited financial  statements
stating these matters raise  substantial  doubt that the Registrant will be able
to  continue  as a going  concern.  These  three  factors  all  impact the final
reported  results for 2002, as noted in Part IV, Item 3, and need to be resolved
before the Registrant's Annual Report on Form 10-K can be filed.




PART IV--OTHER INFORMATION

(1) Name and telephone number of person to contact in regard to this
notification





Gary E. Bockrath              (304)                   258-2500

     (Name)                (Area Code)          (Telephone Number)

(2) Have all other periodic reports required under Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30 of the Investment Company Act of
1940 during the preceding 12 months or for such shorter period that the



registrant was required to file such report(s) been filed? If answer is no,
identify report(s). |X| Yes |_| No

(3) Is it anticipated that any significant change in results of operations from
the corresponding period for the last fiscal year will be reflected by the
earnings statements to be included in the subject report or portion thereof? |X|
Yes |_| No

If so, attach an explanation of the anticipated change, both narratively and
quantitatively, and, if appropriate, state the reasons why a reasonable estimate
of the results cannot be made.

The increased number of third-party product liability claims filed against the
Registrant in 2002 will result in a significant increase in the accrued costs
for these claims, and, based on the actuarial study referred to above, will
result in the Registrant recording a non-current liability for these future
costs, that is only partially offset by a non-current asset representing the
estimated insurance and indemnity recoveries available to the Registrant.
Additionally, the representative bids for the purchase of the Registrant's
subsidiaries that are being offered for sale are significantly less than the
carrying value of those subsidiaries and the Registrant will be recording an
impairment loss reflecting current market value regardless of whether or not any
sale is completed.



BETTER MINERALS & AGGREGATES COMPANY has caused this notification to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.




Date     April 1, 2003                      By /s/ Gary E. Bockrath