OZ Minerals continues to wriggle on the hook about its lack of transparency and disclosure over the extent of its debts and just when it knew it would have to refinance them. But while Morgan Stanley has boosted its stake in the company to well over 6%, the name of one of its possible suitors has emerged.

It’s Xstrata — the acquisitive Swiss-UK based mining giant controlled by the Glencore metals and commodities trading group based in Switzerland. It’s the third largest mining group in the world.

OZ Minerals has also held low-key talks with BHP Billiton, which has expressed interest in Oz’s Prominent Hill project in South Australia which is about to come into production at a cost of $1.2 billion. Xstrata controls Mount Isa Mines in Queensland, which is near Oz’s Century zinc mine and the Dugald River lead/zinc, silver project nearby. It also has the Ernest Henry copper gold project in the same area.

It would be interested in Prominent Hill and Oz’s Golden Grove mine and prospects in Western Australia. Whether it would want Roseberry, in Tasmania which is principally lead and zinc, and the Avebury nickel mine, also in Tasmania. OZ has gold and copper mines in Laos (Sepon) and Indonesia.

Xstrata bought Jubilee Mines, a medium sized nickel miner, which would be close to losing money now that the world nickel price is well under $US10,000 a tonne. Xstrata also has substantial coal interests in Queensland and NSW.

Meanwhile the local bank that has caused all the problems in OZ Minerals refinancing saga isn’t the ANZ as reported on Monday. The ANZ is said to be highly supportive and upset at the antics of the Commonwealth Bank which is acting in a ham-fisted way in trying to get a preferred position, or to get the other banks in the two syndicates, to buy its debt. The CBA apparently now wants to cut its exposure to resources.

Morgan Stanley now has 6.89% of OZ Minerals, having bought 55 million shares from November 21 to November 28.

The new total holding is over 214 million shares, with around 203 million of those held by Morgan Stanley’s Australian office. There are a series of smaller holdings in the bank’s Australian name, plus small holdings in overseas arms of the bank. All of these are not holdings on behalf of hedge funds.

Those holdings are clearly marked in the filings. The Australian arm is clearly accumulating the shares for a client with deep pockets. The 214 million shares would have cost upwards of $150 million. The buying started when the shares were well over $2 each and the buyer has averaged down as the price slumped towards 55 cents. That is a lot of cash top spend/borrow these days of credit freezes.