Mining companies like Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF 1.73%) and its close peers have vastly underperformed the market, as measured by the S&P 500, over the past year. That being said, there are several reasons why one could offer a bullish thesis on Cliffs, especially if global growth decides to accelerate. The capital intensive nature of this industry virtually insures against new competitors cropping up organically, and Cliffs' peer-leading dividend pays investors to wait out cyclical downturns before the growth bug strikes. Take a look at the video below in which Motley Fool energy and materials analyst, Taylor Muckerman, goes into these topics in more detail.