In the old, currently used method of separating oil (bitumen) from surface mined oil sands, the ore is extracted with giant mechanized shovels, placed in very large trucks, transported to crushers, and placed in vats of heated water along with solvents and other facilitators. The sand sinks to the bottom and the oil floats to the top, where it is skimmed off and collected. The water eventually ends up in retention reservoirs. See Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athabasca_oil_sands, for an excellent article and additional resources.
This method was pioneered by Dr. Karl Clark in the 1920s. This his original pilot plant model, http://wayback.archive-it.org/2217/20101208162804/http://www.abheritage.ca/abresources/innovation/research_oilsands_clark.html
