Pike's Peak is a Fringe World with underground mineral seams. It possesses many valleys of various depths. Arcturus Mengsk and Dia de Santo, prospecting partners, dug amongst the valleys hoping to strike it rich. However, their gravimetric readings kept fluctuating, and geologic mapping and rock assays showed nothing valuable there. The two risked losing all their money. De Santo wanted to cut her losses, but Mengsk insisted on continued exploration.