I would buy properties. Usually gold is a safe commodity to bet on, however I think you have the potential to earn back more with properties and the market is a lot more secure.

The opportunity to rent the properties out will also give you constant income.

My plan would go something like:

Buy my first property for cash. Say around $400k. Rent this one out.

Then use the remaining $600k to split them into 6 different properties, paying a deposit of $100k on each, and getting a mortgage using the rent from the very first one. The rent would then pay off the bank and I can use my money to buy 7 properties in total, rather than just one or two.